For Mackenzie Pickett, teaching at Memorial Middle School (MMS) is more than the beginning of a career. It is the continuation of a family story that has unfolded in Spring Branch ISD (SBISD) for three generations.
Pickett, a sixth-grade social studies teacher at MMS, is beginning her second year as a full-time teacher in SBISD after first joining the district as a substitute in spring 2025.
Her connection to MMS, however, began long before she stepped into her own classroom.
Pickett’s grandfather served as a counselor at MMS beginning around the late 1960s or early 1970s. Her mother later became a science teacher at the school in the 1990s. Today, Pickett is carrying that tradition forward as a social studies teacher.
“My family history is parallel with SBISD’s history,” Pickett said. “Working with SBISD runs in the family, I suppose!”
For Pickett, continuing that legacy in a community her family has served for decades is meaningful.
“It is deeply gratifying to continue to be part of this community for so long,” she said.
A new path for a lifelong learner
Pickett’s path to teaching was not necessarily a traditional one.
Before joining SBISD, she earned a master’s degree in history from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Her professional and academic experiences included work with museums, archaeological excavations and laboratories.
Education, however, was already woven throughout those experiences. Pickett had regularly spoken with MMS students about world history and ancient cultures while completing her undergraduate and graduate studies.
When an opportunity arose in the MMS Social Studies Department, she decided to make the transition from substitute to teacher and begin the certification process. Her mentor, Niki Connor, encouraged her to take that next step and officially join the MMS team.
Pickett quickly discovered that becoming a teacher meant becoming a student all over again.
“Teaching is a ridiculously deceptive career path,” she said. “You spend just as much time learning as your students do, if not more.”
That constant discovery is part of what she enjoys most.
Teaching sixth-grade world geography and cultures gives Pickett the opportunity to introduce students to people, places and ideas they may be encountering for the first time.
She remembers realizing early in her teaching career that concepts she considered familiar were entirely new to many of her students.
“I am the first to really dig in and explain these things,” Pickett said. “It has been both very eye-opening and exciting.”
Those lessons can lead students in unexpected directions, from discovering how ancient Greek temple architecture appears in modern homes to exploring the historical context behind Godzilla or learning about what is believed to be one of history’s earliest written customer complaints.
Bringing the world into the classroom
Pickett’s museum background continues to influence the way she approaches teaching.
She has participated in educational workshops offered by Houston institutions including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Houston Museum of Natural Science; Holocaust Museum Houston; and Houston Zoo.
After previously experiencing museum education from the professional side, Pickett now gets to participate as an educator and learner.
“I have enjoyed bringing local opportunities of learning and exploration into the classroom and integrating the local community with my educational community,” she said.
She also credits her MMS colleagues with helping her continue to grow.
“At MMS, there is a wealth of knowledge via our veteran teachers, and it cannot be overstated just how empowering it is to have a network of brilliant educators,” Pickett said.
That support, combined with the opportunity to bring individual experience and creativity into the district curriculum, has helped Pickett develop her own identity as an educator.
Continuing a tradition of possibility
As someone whose family connection to SBISD spans generations, Pickett has experienced the district from a unique perspective. She sees its diversity of students, families, cultures and experiences as one of the things that makes teaching here especially rewarding.
She is also proud to be part of a district receiving national recognition for its academic progress, including SBISD’s recognition as a “District on the Rise.”
For Pickett, however, what makes SBISD special is not simply its accomplishments. It is the people who continue choosing to invest their talents in the community.
“For me, what’s possible in SBISD is possible anywhere else,” Pickett said. “What makes it special is the number of people who choose to stay.”
Three generations into her family’s SBISD story, Pickett is now one of them, bringing her love of history, curiosity and lifelong learning to a new generation of students.
And for anyone considering following a similar path into teaching, she has a few practical pieces of advice: Be prepared to keep learning, invest in supportive shoes and never underestimate the motivational power of stickers and a good class mascot.