Morgan DeKlyen is an 8th-grade English and AVID teacher at Discovery Middle School, but her passion is theatre. After school, she is the costume shop director and guest director at the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics. Her most recent production was Pride and Prejudice which closed early in March 2023. Her inspiration for teaching stems from the opportunity to assist in teaching a middle school theatre class during her senior year of high school. Based on her experience in teaching that class, she did her senior project on the importance of arts education and directed that class’s final project. From there, Morgan was hooked! She got her undergraduate degree in English and Theatre, and her Master's in Education and has worked as a teacher for four years since.

As an English teacher, Morgan hopes that her students will see how her class is connected to the outside world. The skills that she teaches will help them beyond the classroom and into their adult lives, and she hopes that they can recognize that importance. Her motto in the classroom has always been “they don't care how much you know until they know how much you care,” and she keeps this teaching philosophy in mind throughout the school day. One thing that she is especially proud of is allowing students to grow their passion for reading. She and her coworkers have worked hard to get reading material that the students will connect with and just devour. She writes, “Seeing them excited about reading makes all of the tough days worth it.”

Her main passion in life is arts education. With her background from VSAA, this teaching mindset is what drives her in the classroom. “I love education in general, but when I get to work in the arts world that is when I feel like I am making the most impact.” This is so important for education as a whole as so much emphasis is put on STEM education, but students need to know that there is room for art as a profession and beyond. 

Outside of work, Morgan is an avid member of the Timbers Army and loves to cheer on her team at home games in Portland. She is also in the process of planning her wedding! She shares two french bulldogs with her fiance and loves to take them on fun adventures.