Ryan Pope

Ryan Pope

6th Grade Team

Welcome Wildcats!

I was born and raised in Lakeland, and I am a Lake Gibson High School graduate. After high school, I attended Florida Southern College and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Education. I am certified in Elementary Education grades K-6th, ESOL, and Gifted Endorsed. I am also pursuing a Master's in Educational Leadership at Southeastern University. If all goes as planned, I will finish my classes in December 2024. I am excited to join the Mckeel Family, and this with be my 15th year teaching. My first eleven years of teaching were spent in elementary education, where I taught various grades, including Kindergarten, Third, and Fifth Grade. However, my most enjoyable and successful years in elementary were teaching 5th-grade math and science. For the last three years, I was a 6th-8th Grade Teacher of the Gifted and Robotics Lab Teacher at Lake Alfred Polytech Academy, where I also coached Volleyball and Soccer. This August, I celebrated my 13th wedding anniversary with my beautiful wife, Amanda Pope, who is also a teacher of the Gifted at Dundee Elementary Academy. 

The most important part of teaching for me is fostering a positive and effective learning environment that helps students achieve their goals. This includes creating an atmosphere where students feel comfortable, engaged, and motivated to learn. This year I will also focus on inspiring students to be courageous. Courage is essential to education as it empowers students to take risks, face challenges, and embrace new opportunities. Nelson Mandela once said, " I learned courage was not the absence of fear but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid but he who conquers that fear." This school year 6th-Gade math will engage students in activities and projects that require them to think creatively and take calculated risks. When students learn to solve problems independently, they become more courageous in approaching challenges.