Sharon Payne

Educational background and experience: 

My teaching career started in 1976 after graduating from Tennessee Temple University.  It was a privilege teaching at my alma mater for six years earning a MA from Bob Jones University in between by first and second year.  My husband and I felt drawn to move the Denver so Don could attend Denver Seminary.  After graduation, we moved back to Tennessee where I taught part time at Chattanooga State and Covenant College and then we moved back to Denver where I taught part time at CCU with a total of six years part time teaching load.  When our three children started attending Front Range for their junior and senior high education, I went on staff teaching part time and then full time primarily in the Fine Arts and Language Arts departments with some science and Bible sprinkled around.   This began in the fall of 1998.

Why do you teach?:

I grew up with four sisters.  People at church and even relatives often could not tell us a part.  I was just one of the Stroup girls.  When I started kindergarten, the teacher knew my name and treated me like a person, not a group of five.  It was then the seed was planted for me to love teachers and the field of teaching.  It is a joy to know each student and to treat each one as a unique individual.

Why do you teach at FRCS?:  

The philosophy of FRCS and the freedom to share my faith makes my job Number 1!!

What is your passion in life?: 

There are few things that bring me more joy than to see a teenager "own" his or her faith and grow in the light of the Lord!!

What are your hobbies and other interests?:

Gardening fits with my passion of watching growth.  Instead of teenagers, it is tomatos, pumpkins, cucumbers and flowers!