Roxane Bailey, Burns High School Science Teacher

"I enjoy when I can connect a concept that I’m teaching with a real life example that students can relate to. I am always looking for opportunities to get the students involved in hands-on, out of the building activities. Collaborating with various groups allows students to have those opportunities." Roxane Bailey is a science teacher at Burns High School where there is no such thing as a "typical" day. "On average for my science classes, we are either in a classroom and I’m delivering a lesson or we are participating in a lab that supports the curriculum. If I’m teaching Horticulture, we are usually in the greenhouse. I also manage the school side of the Harney Internship Program which has me following up with students at their intern job sites."

Roxane comes from a line of teachers on both sides of her family and her career started in academia. She has a B.S. in Animal Science, an M.S. in Ruminant Nutrition and a Masters of Teaching in Education. After college, Roxane worked for the Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center (EOARC) for 10 years. "Conducting outreach was a big part of my job at the EOARC. I loved it. I truly enjoy educating people (especially children) about agriculture. One of the outreach programs we started was bringing school aged students to the station and providing them with hands-on fun activities that taught them about agriculture. The 2nd grade field trip continues to this day."

Roxane is from Ohio where she grew up on a farm. After doing her bachelor's at Montana State University and then her Masters at University of Nevada-Reno she made her way to Harney County for her work with EOARC. Once in Harney County she met her husband and has been in Harney County ever since.

Once Roxane obtained her Masters in Teaching from Eastern Oregon University she made the shift to teaching and in addition to her more than full-time teaching role at Burns High she participates with the Youth Changing the Community Collaborative. "I collaborate with the Youth Collaborative because it provides experiences for students through their Harney Internship Program and other programs that they would never get within the confines of classroom walls."

Outside of the classroom, lab and greenhouse experiences with her students Roxane spends time with her son and husband fishing and traveling and also enjoys vegetable and flower gardening.