Yukon Teacher Spotlight Wes Ankrom
By Ivy Knapp
For the past 26 years, Mr. Wes Ankrom has been making a huge impact on Yukon Schools. He started teaching back in 2000 and has spent his entire career at Yukon High School. When asked what keeps him here after all these years, his answer is the students. “The thing that I most enjoy about my position and being at Yukon High School is that I have the ability to inspire the future by teaching and coaching students every day,” Mr. Ankrom said.
Teaching biology is what he does best, but for him, it’s about more than the lessons. It’s about helping students grow both in school and in life.
“A student can expect a new start every day,” he said. “No matter how good or bad their day is or was, every time they enter my class is a new day to get better and improve.”
That mindset carries through everything he does, whether he’s teaching in the classroom or handling challenges that come his way.
“I treat each day as a new day. No matter how the past day was, I always greet the next as a new one that I can make improvements in.”
Mr. Ankrom’s inspiration to become an educator goes back to his own high school days in Seiling, Oklahoma.
“There are a lot of people who inspired me to become an educator, but the one I would say that did that the most is Coach Jim Sanders. He was my high school basketball and football coach.”
Throughout his time in education, there have been a bunch of memorable moments, but the ones that stand out most are close to home.
“I love being able to teach with my family,” he said. “My wife, Michelle Ankrom, is an Athletic Director in the district. My sister, Shannon Ankrom, is a 3rd grade teacher in the district. All four of my kids — Elijah, Caleb, Ben, and Abby have graduated or will be graduating from Yukon.”
When he’s not in the classroom, Mr. Ankrom will be spending time with family, out at the lake fishing, wake surfing, or enjoying the outdoors. A fun fact that might surprise his students is he loves to smoke barbecue meat in his free time.
After more than two decades of teaching, he’s seen a lot change especially with technology. “Over the years, my students have embraced the technology changes that are constantly happening in our society. As teachers, if we don’t learn to embrace those changes, it’s hard for us to reach our students.”
Mr. Ankrom’s advice for anyone thinking about becoming a teacher is mighty. “Attack each day as a new day. If you let the previous day control the narrative of the present day, the success of your students will suffer.”
