Shaen McKnight is the new Upper School chemistry teacher. He chose to teach science because of his love of learning and problem solving, and for the beauty of science. He attended the University of Texas at Arlington and received a BS in geology with a minor in Chemistry. McKnight also received an MED in Secondary Education from the University of North Texas. He currently has Texas educational certifications in Physical Science, Earth Science, and Composite Science. McKnight was formerly a field engineering representative, chemist, and research chemist for the Dow Chemical Company. He met his wife Paulette while working at the Dow Chemical in Michigan. He began teaching 24 years ago at Richland High School and has a 19-year long experience teaching Pre-AP and AP Chemistry.

McKnight chose FWCD looking for a challenge. McKnight enjoys reading, music, and spending time with his three cats: Vito, Dewey, and Bubba are all domestic short hairs. Dewey and Bubba were rescues that became friends, so McKnight and his wife decided to keep them together and adopted them. He enjoys reading fiction and the works of Cormac McCarthy. His favorite book is Suttree by Cormac McCarthy. For lighter reads, he favors novels by Neal Gaiman. McKnight played the trombone in high school, and his favorite musical artist is Tom Waits. The walls in McKnight’s room are not heavily decorated with pictures or certificates, because he wishes to live in the present, not reflect on the past. Some goals of McKnight’s include surviving the year, learning from his students and co-workers, and for his students to learn and enjoy chemistry.