A fixture at Early Primary School for almost two decades, Darcy Stockman’s kindergarten class, “feels like family and feels like home. This is just where I was meant to be.”
Stockman will begin her 19th year at Early in August, where she taught a few different grades before settling in on kindergarten.
“I started out with first grade and then moved to second grade, but I decided I wanted to try the littles and kindergarten is just my jam,” Stockman said with a laugh. “Kindergarten is the foundation of learning. Everything starts at kindergarten. If you can get a child to love school at 5 then my hope is that will continue to grow into adulthood.”
Stockman’s desire to teach began when she was in elementary school, and only grew throughout the rest of her school days.
“I knew in third grade this is what I wanted to do,” Stockman said. “I had the best third grade teacher. She was so warm and kind and I knew that was what I wanted to do.”
Stockman grew up in the Austin area and later attended Texas Tech University in Lubbock before beginning her career as an educator.
Regarding the most rewarding aspects of her job, Stockman said, “Everything is rewarding. Seeing them figure something out for the first time or learning something new. Seeing them become good people and showing compassion at even 5 years old is just pretty awesome.”
Reflecting on the number of her kindergarten students that she’s gone on to see gain their diplomas from Early High School, Stockman said, “It’s a pretty cool feeling to go to graduation and see those kids that I remember little things about them from 12 years earlier. Once I have those kids in my class I feel like they’re mine forever. I’ll always be cheering for them and happy when they’re successful and I want the best for them.”
As for what she looks forward to most in the future as a teacher, Stockman said, “Every day is a new day, it’s never boring. They come to school every day and we cover what’s necessary, but teachable moments also make the world go round. Every day they teach me just as much as I hope to teach them.”
She and her husband Jack Stockman have two sons, 15-year-old Jackson and 13-year-old Maddox, who have attended Early ISD throughout their youth.