Ms. Kim Parfitt – AP Biology
Kim Parfitt is a Nationally Board Certified teacher with a master’s degree in Natural Resources. She is
a state nominee for the Presidential Award in Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching and a
past recipient of both the Arch Coal Award (2006) and the Golden Apple Award (2014). In addition,
Kim has been selected to be a Fund for Teachers Fellow, a Toyota International Teacher Fellow, and a
teacher/developer for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Holiday Lecture on Biodiversity. Kim
participates eagerly in professional development through her summers in order to provide cutting edge
technology, unique experiences, and current content in the classroom. She loves teaching AP biology
and focuses and developing curious, critical thinkers with a passion for solving problems.
Mr. Eric Lee – AP Drawing & AP Art 2D
Eric Lee is an art teacher and a 1983 graduate of Central High School. Mr. Lee holds degrees in
Visual Art, Interior Design and Art Education. He is a graduate of the University of Northern
Colorado and the University Of Wyoming College Of Education. Eric participates in summer teacher
workshops at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Savannah College of Art and Design, and the
Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Mr. Lee leads art history trips with Central students through
Italy and is planning a June 2015 excursion to include the ruins of Pompeii. Mr. Lee was chosen as
Central High Teacher of the Year in 2004 and the commencement speaker to the class of 2009. Mr.
Lee is a professional artist and participates in local and regional art shows throughout the Rocky
Mountain region and maintains a studio in downtown Cheyenne.
Mr. Aaron Kruger – AP World History
Aaron Kruger graduated from the University of Wyoming in 2004 with a degree in Secondary
Education. He also has a Master’s Degree in History from the University of Wyoming and he is highly
qualified in all subject areas of Social Studies. Aaron has participated in a number of Advanced
Placement trainings and serves as a curriculum writer for Laramie County School District #1 in World
History. Aaron continues to be highly involved in professional development, specifically as a lab
classroom at Central. He enjoys the challenge of teaching AP World History and pushing students to
become better thinkers, writers, and citizens.
Mr. Loran Krysl – AP Physics
Loran Krysl has been teaching AP Physics for 10 years. He has taught in Africa, South America,
Colorado and Wyoming. His master’s degree focused on helping students to avoid misconceptions of
physics concepts and he is currently focused on having his students develop deeper conceptual
understandings of physics phenomena. He is a past winner of the WSTA Teacher of the Year
Award. Loran regularly attends AP Physics training in the summer months and he works continuously
to integrate new technology into the LCSD1 physics program. Loran enjoys summer garage sales
because he finds inexpensive treasures to use in his students’ physics labs and to indulge his passion of
tinkering with and creating unique physics demonstration equipment to illustrate physics
principles. Loran’s goal for his students is for them pass the AP Physics exam and more importantly
to help them develop a passion for learning physics and to have them look at the world through new
“physics eyes”. AP Physics is also a great preparatory course for students interested in majoring in
science, especially engineering.
Ms. Wendy Dryden – AP Music Theory
Wendy Dryden holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education and a Master’s degree in Educational
Technology. She has been the choral director at McCormick JHS for 21 years and has had the
opportunity to teach at Central HS alongside Mr. Hurst for the past three years. Wendy is a past
recipient of the Golden Apple Award (2012), is involved in the district mentoring program and has
been a lab classroom teacher for the past three years. She is a member of the American Choral
Directors Association and the National Association for Music Education. She annually attends music
conferences to strengthen her choral teaching. Wendy enjoys teaching AP Music Theory and
developing independent thinking musicians.
Mrs. Otty Farris – AP Literature and Composition
Otty Farris has been teaching English for 18 years, 15 of those years have been at Central High School.
She has taught everything from 7th grade English to senior composition. She graduated from the
University of Wyoming with bachelor’s degrees in Journalism, English and Secondary Education. In
addition, she also has a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction as well as a Literacy
Endorsement from UW. Ms. Farris has been teaching AP Literature and Composition for the last 8
years. Her nearly 60 hours of English courses along with her vast AP training, including 2 weeklong
summer institutes and district training with College Board specialists, provide her with not only with a
strong literary background but also with an understanding of the skills necessary for students to
succeed in a college level English course. Additionally, Ms. Farris has spent 10 days the last 4
summers scoring the AP Literature and Composition exam where she is trained by College Board
personnel on the expectations of the current year’s essay questions and then reads and scores over a
thousand student essays. These scoring opportunities have provided her with unparalleled insight and
expertise into the expectations of the College Board in awarding students passing scores on the AP
exam. Having this first-hand experience of grading the current year’s “live” essays translates to her
classroom in a way that allows her to develop her students’ writing and analytical skills so that they
will meet the expectations of the College Board, potentially earning college English credit. Ms. Farris
also has worked extensively at the district level developing curriculum and writing assessments for
secondary English courses.
DeAnn Eisenhart – AP Calculus AB
DeAnn Eisenhart has been teaching students for 29 years, most of which has been at Central HS. A
1980 graduate of Central HS, she attended the University of Wyoming earning a Bachelor’s degree in
Math Education. After teaching and coaching age group and high school swimming for several years,
she returned to school earning a Master’s degree in Teaching and Learning from Grand Canyon
University. DeAnn is a past recipient of the Arch Coal Teachers’ Award (2002) and the Milken Nation
Educators Award (2003). She was a member and chairman of the Professional Teaching Standards
Board and is currently serving on the University of Wyoming’s College of Education Curriculum
Advisory Committee. DeAnn enjoys participating in the lab classroom professional development
opportunities to learn new and engaging strategies to help students become strong critical thinkers and
problem solvers. After 9 years of teaching Calculus there is nothing she enjoys more than seeing her
students at the “aha moment” when the mathematics finally makes sense!