Within the pages of the Coppell Middle School West library, a remarkable story unfolds, where the heroine’s past and present converge in a heartwarming twist of fate. Britt Plotsky, a former Westie inspired in her love of reading and writing by her eighth-grade Language Arts teacher Stephanie Howell, has returned to her cherished alma mater. This time, she's more than merely a character within the school — she's the librarian, guiding young minds through the literary landscape alongside her former teacher.
Plotsky’s journey from student to librarian is intertwined with her eighth-grade teacher, Stephanie Howell, and is a tale rich with the theme of the enduring influence of educators on the plots of their students' lives. Their story begins in the 2005-2006 school year, with Britt as an eighth grader in Stephanie Howell’s class.
“The thing that I remember the most about Stephanie's class was that she supported our reading,” Plotsky says. “I was a huge reader, I have been my entire life, which helped me become a librarian. And she really worked on preserving that sacred reading time.”
Howell remembers her former student Plotsky as being super inquisitive, super curious, and an avid reader.
“She also was a really gifted writer and overall an ideal student. She was the kind of kid that you wish you had multiples of in every class,” Howell says.
A pinnacle plot point of their story together is when Howell selected Plotsky as her eighth-grade language arts award recipient in May of 2006, an award that Plotsky still has to this day.
Plotsky describes her return as the librarian at her former middle school as surreal, even though CMS West is now a different building in a new location.
“I was so shocked coming back to find Stephanie was still here,” Plotsky says. “I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, we're gonna work together now, and that is the coolest thing.’”
As a member of the Coppell High School “Ready Set Teach” program, Plotsky’s love of the education profession was instilled in her due in part to her amazing teachers, including Howell, and Clara Caussey, who taught her English at CHS and is now the Instructional Coach at CMS East, and Matt Bowden, who was her Creative Writing teacher at CHS and still teaches English at the school.
Plotsky, who went to Lakeside and Pinkerton Elementary before attending CMS West, graduated from CHS in 2010 when now Superintendent Dr. Brad Hunt was the principal of the high school. She went on to graduate from the University of Texas at Austin and taught at Richard J. Lee Elementary in CISD for a few years before getting her Master’s of Library Science from the University of North Texas.
Howell’s backstory includes teaching at CMS West for 22 years and being a teacher 27 years. She now teaches seventh-grade language arts and is delighted that her former student is now the Librarian at her school.
“I remember [Plotsky] as being kind of quiet and shy,” Howell says. “So, one of the things that's been fascinating through all of this, for me, has been seeing that she’s not quiet and shy anymore.”
She adds, “When I brought my classes down for Library orientation and watched [Plotsky] present to my gangly classes of seventh graders, it spoke to my heart. I thought, ‘Oh my, that's my Britt,’ and it made me cry, I was so proud of her.”
Howell truly enjoys having her former student as a colleague.
“As a teacher, this is what you hope for, to hear that your former students are excelling,” Howell says. “To be able to see Britt in action every day and know she is doing so well, it’s the dream. This is why teachers do what we do, to make a difference in the lives of our students. Not everyone gets a front-row seat to our students' success, so I am really enjoying this opportunity.”
Plotsky says she loves CISD, because of teachers like Stephanie whose passion for teaching is amazing to her.
“Add to the fact that CISD is so focused on students as well, which I have noticed through my own time as a student, and returning to the district as a teacher and now a Librarian,” she says. “I remember how my teachers gave us opportunities where we could let our individual talents shine and provided time to focus on things we loved. This idea informs a lot of my own teaching methods.”
Howell also loves CISD because of the relationships with her students, colleagues, and families.
“CISD feels like home,” she says.
Plotsky echoed that sentiment.
“Now that I'm here and I'm working alongside Stephanie, I'm seeing other people I graduated with from CHS who are also working in the district,” Plotsky says. “It just makes me feel really fulfilled, like I am coming home.”
The plot of both Plotsky’s and Howell’s stories are forever intertwined, now that they have moved from student and teacher to beloved colleagues at CMS West. The possibilities for their next chapters together are limitless, as they partner together to instill a love of reading in their students at CMS West.