Teachers

Mrs. Kara Hoover

English 1 Honors

Kara Hoover earned her bachelor’s degree in General Elementary Education from Texas A&M Corpus Christi University, and her master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Texas A&M Commerce. In 2017 Kara was recognized as the Teacher of the Year at her campus. In 2018 Kara was recognized as a Dallas ISD Distinguished Teacher.  Kara has been an educator for seven years and has had experience in all content areas at the elementary level. She is certified to teach English as a second language, and recently received her EC-12 English Language arts certification. She is currently working on becoming certified in Gifted and Talented Education.

Ms. Aaronia Ferguson

English II

Teaching is in her blood. Growing up in a home of educators in Dallas, Texas, Ferguson knew from an early age that she wanted to be an educator. After graduating with a degree in Psychology and a minor in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Houston, Ferguson began her teaching career in Dallas ISD. During her 15 years as an educator, she has been fortunate enough to teach all levels of students, ranging from high school, to middle school, to elementary.

Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas has served as her home for her entire teaching career. During her time at Woodrow, she taught 9^thgrade and 10^thgrade English: Pre-AP and IB. She also served as the Varsity Cheerleading Coach. After 13 years in the classroom, she decided to make the jump from teaching students to teaching and coaching adults. She found this to be just as rewarding as her time in the classroom with students. Working with teachers allows her to have a greater influence on the students.  Ferguson has learned so much about herself through working with fellow educators. It has been deeply fulfilling to watch her teachers grow more proficient and confident throughout the course of their time together as they discovered and nurtured their craft as educators.

Currently, Ferguson lives in North Dallas with her dog Molly.  She loves reading, writing, and spending time outdoors. She is grateful to have a job that allows her to draw on the elements of teaching that have long been a part of who she is, while working with students and teachers who continue to inspire her each day.

Mr. Connor Stratman

Mr. Stratman began teaching at Richland College in 2013, where he taught ESL to adults from across the world. Soon after, he began teaching English courses at the University of Texas at Arlington while working on his PhD in English Literature. In 2018, he made the transition to teaching high school when he joined the faculty of Uplift Heights in West Dallas, where he taught 11^th and 12^th grade IB English. After three years with Uplift, Mr. Stratman joined North Lake’s faculty in the Fall of 2021. He currently teaches 11^th grade dual credit English (ENGL 1301/1302).

Mr. Stratman is passionate about helping students discover their voices through writing and engaging with challenging ideas. Whether they are discussing current events, dissecting literary texts, or analyzing artifacts of pop culture, Mr. Stratman’s students are encouraged to take ownership of their learning and to bring what they know (and what they don’t know) to the table. Likewise, Mr. Stratman believes everyone should be committed to preserving a “beginner’s mind” in the classroom and maintaining an openness to intellectual and personal growth. The end goal is for students to not only be able to communicate their ideas more clearly and artfully, but also to have a clearer understanding of why they think what they think and how to effectively dialogue with those who think differently.

Mr. Stratman and his wife, Cara, live in East Dallas. He spends his free time enjoying books, hiking, food, and live music.