As an instructor of math as well as a track-and-field coach at Shawnee Heights High School in Tecumseh, KS, Bradley Nicks has created a teaching philosophy that blends athletic principals with arithmetical tools. He keeps his students both mentally and physically fit. Nicks enjoys his role as the Math Department Chair for the High School as they look to implement the New Kansas Mathematic Standards. As track-and-field coach, Nicks led the boys' track team to win the state championships in 2007 & 2015 and the girls' team to win the same honor in 2009 and was awards as the Mid-West Track & Field Coach of the Year in 2015, an honor that covers an 8-state area.
Using proven educational methodologies, such as Kagan Learning Strategies and Quantum Learning Techniques, Nicks engages students interactively in group assignments that improve learning in all academic categories, not just those he teaches. Nicks actually trains his students to be better thinkers and learners, as an athlete would train his or her muscles for better performance. His efforts have been measured by the Kansas State Assessments (KSA), where 71 percent of students scored proficiently as sophomores, compared to the state average of 68 percent proficient. Eleventh grade KSA scores for math showed 82 percent proficient, seven percent above the state average of 75 percent. Not only have his students excelled, but they also have enjoyed themselves in the process, voting Nicks math teacher of the year and awarding him the school's Inspirational Teacher Award.
In 2009 I was considering leaving my classroom for a..." (read more)
1999 bnicks@abileneschools.org
