Tuesday, January 18, 2005
"The Math Teacher Everyone Wants"
By day, Amy Jo DeSpain is a high school math teacher; by night she's a dancer for the Phoenix Suns. The Arizona Republic has the full story:
When Highland High math teacher Amy Jo DeSpain isn't explaining a problem, there's a good chance you can find her dancing for the Phoenix Suns at America West Arena.
Amy Jo DeSpain keeps two bags in the trunk of her car.
In the morning, DeSpain grabs her canvas tote filled with lesson plans, homework assignments and quizzes waiting to be graded.
When the school bell rings at the end of the day, she jets to a restroom with her Phoenix Suns backpack crammed with hair products, makeup and everything she needs for a quick transformation.
By day, the 25-year-old teaches math at Highland High School in Gilbert.
By night, she's a Phoenix Suns dancer, shimmying and shaking during halftime shows at America West Arena.
"I tell her to make sure she doesn't get confused on which outfit to wear to class," Highland Principal Ken James, said with a chuckle.
Students are catching on to her double life. On Tuesday, DeSpain was featured in a special postgame segment titled "Beauty and Brains" on Fox Sports Net Arizona.
"Even if I wanted to keep it a secret, I couldn't," said DeSpain, who keeps a collection of Suns paraphernalia by her classroom desk. "The kids like to give me a hard time."
For DeSpain, both passions, dancing and teaching, began at her alma mater, Highland High. She signed up for a dance class during her freshman year, and eventually became a member of the school's One Image Dance Company.
Last fall, she went back to her roots to choreograph an alumni dance routine. Dance students often will ask her about her career.
It also was during her years at Highland when DeSpain developed an interest in teaching. She went on to Arizona State University to study math education and hopes to get her master's degree.
"I'd repeat my high school years in a heartbeat," DeSpain said. "But since I can't, I want to play a positive role in children's lives. I had great teachers who inspired me."
Fifteen-year-old Kyle Cottam said DeSpain is the "math teacher everyone wants." He said students are attracted to her because she's young and enthusiastic.
The principal agrees.
"The energy she has on the court, she brings to the classroom," James said. "She's going 100 miles an hour all the time."
Even with a jampacked schedule, DeSpain refuses to slow the pace. She said she hopes that by seeing her demanding lifestyle, students will learn that if they love something enough, they will never have to give it up.
"I try to teach kids that there's nothing they can't do," she said. "Sometimes you have to shift your schedule around or live with a little less sleep, but you have to do it if you want to live your life to the fullest."
DeSpain has been a Suns dancer for five years, and also dances for the Phoenix Mercury and Arizona Rattlers. She lives with her husband in Mesa.
When Highland High math teacher Amy Jo DeSpain isn't explaining a problem, there's a good chance you can find her dancing for the Phoenix Suns at America West Arena.
