This school year has come with many changes, one of which is staff retirees. With last year’s teachers leaving their positions, new teachers have taken their spots at Centennial High School. In this article we welcome a new member to the English department: Mrs. Tana King.
For King, teaching wasn’t her first plan. It grew out of her love for coaching. “Growing up, I wanted to coach swimming. I had a great high school history teacher who did both. He coached and taught, and that really inspired me.”
At first, King majored in psychology at Towson University, but she eventually realized that teaching would combine her strengths with her interest, working with high school students. “Everyone thought I’d be a good elementary teacher because I’m happy all the time,” she joked, “but the chaos is too much. High school kids are the right fit for me.”
Her decision to choose English as her subject was, in her words, “kind of silly.” She explained, “I’m good at it, and I met my best friend in my high school English class. So I just liked it, and thought, I guess I’ll be an English teacher.”
Before arriving at Centennial, King taught for nine years in Baltimore County and then four years in Howard County, including time at Mount Hebron High School. She came to Centennial after staff shifts at Hebron. “When they told me they could only keep me for part of a position, I put myself in the transfer pool,” she explains “Dr. Miller reached out about Centennial, and I thought, any chance to work with her, let’s go.”
So far, King says Centennial has exceeded her expectations. “There’s this high expectation of Centennial in the county, and it’s lived up to that academically,” she said. “What I feel really lucky about is the English department. They’re so strong and so friendly. Even walking the halls, every teacher I’ve met has stopped to introduce themselves.”
She’s also been impressed by her students. This year, she teaches both sophomores and juniors, including AP Language. “Sophomores are interesting because they’re still figuring out who they are,” she said. “They’re still kind of babies in that sense, but I’m excited to see how they grow this year.”
A former student-athlete herself, King especially enjoys teaching athletes. “It’s cool to connect with them on that level,” she shared. Outside of school, she continues to coach swimming at Merritt in Eldersburg. “If Centennial had a swim team, I’d absolutely coach it.”
In the classroom, her goals are ambitious but clear. “I want to build a safe community where students actually want to come to class,” she explained. “I call myself a ‘turn and burn’ teacher. We read a lot, we write a lot. I want to push their reading and writing stamina.”
Balancing that with family life is her personal priority. King and her husband, also an HCPSS teacher, have a three-year-old daughter and a five-month-old son. “We try to get things done at school so when we’re home, we can really be with our kids,” she said.
Overall, King is excited for the year ahead. “I’m super happy to be here,” she said. “I’m excited to be an Eagle.”
