The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting cooler and the anticipation, or perhaps, for students, indifference, of the coming school year is in the air.
With just days standing between summer vacation and fall semester, Oxford Community Schools is getting its new staffers acclimated.
Coming from colleges and careers across the mitten state and specializing in a variety of subjects:
Meet Oxford’s newest class of educators.
Elizabeth Sefcheck
Recently graduated from Eastern Michigan University, Sefcheck is working her first teaching job as a special education teacher at Oxford High School (OHS).
Sefcheck is well acquainted with Oxford – she did her student teaching at OHS, Oxford Middle School (OMS) and Oxford Elementary. She has also walked the halls as a student and graduated from OHS in 2010.
Ryan Moore
Joining OHS as the Dean of Students, Moore has worked in education for the last 14 years. Before education, he worked with children at Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources, Oakland County Children’s Village and Training and Treatment innovations. He’s spent his education career counseling with Waterford Schools and Grand Blanc Academy.
“Oxford is a lively, creative, growing, family-friendly community, I’m excited to be a part of that,” Moore said. “I’ve got several good friends that live in Oxford and am privileged to have worked with a number of folks from the community. From what they tell me, Oxford Schools has the unique reputation of being a district no one wants to stop working for. I can’t wait to learn all the reasons why.”
Shelby Buster
After serving the communities of Pontiac and Detroit for the last two years, Buster is joining the staff of Lakeville Elementary as a social worker. She hopes to bring a strong, student-centric bond to the students and families involved at Lakeville.
Buster has studied at both Oakland University and Wayne State University for undergrad and graduate, respectively, and is currently training one of her two dogs to be a therapy dog.
Taylor LaMagna
LaMagna will be teaching the polar opposite subjects of language arts and math at OMS. She’ll be seen in classrooms teaching sixth grade language arts, sixth grade math and algebra one. She studied both subjects in school at Oakland University.
She completed her student teaching in Troy, has taught for Lake Orion Community Schools and is confident joining Oxford’s staff as she is a former Wildcat herself. She grew up in Oxford and enjoys spending time in Michigan’s northern half at her family’s cabin.
Lisa Yaxley
Yaxley left a career in mortgage and management banking to pursue one in social work. She has worked in medical and clinical social work in the past and has spent the last five years being a social worker in schools. She’s joining Oxford as a social worker at Leonard Elementary and Clear Lake Elementary.
Yaxley has seven children, two of whom are grown, and loves to spend time outside hiking, swimming and camping. She’s particularly looking forward to getting to know her colleagues and students.
Dr. Tom Harwood
Harwood has worked in education for 31 years and has served roles ranging from psychologist to superintendent in a slew of school districts around Michigan. He’s been married to his wife for 33 years and they have raised two children. He’s joining OMS and Oxford Virtual Academy as the school psychologist.
“I am looking forward to meeting and working with students and families to assist in their development of good learning strategies that facilitate further success in school,” Harwood said. “I look forward to being a member of the Oxford Middle School team as we work together to provide a great school year for the students each and every day.”
Andrew Sciacchitano
After spending the last five years teaching math in La Joya Community High in Avondale, Arizona, Sciacchitano is excited to be back in his home state of Michigan to teach math at OHS. Aside from teaching, Sciacchitano enjoyed spending time with students after school at La Joya through coaching softball and baseball as well as advising several clubs. He hopes to do the same in Oxford.
“What I look forward to the most about working at Oxford is the opportunity to serve kids from my home state, and to learn all of the little nuances that teaching in Michigan provides,” he said. “I also love coaching and doing extracurriculars, and I very much look forward to seeing plays, sports games, dance shows and everything else my new school does for its students.”
Skye Cosey
Fostering creativity and imagination in the classroom, Cosey is joining the teaching staffs of Lakeville Elementary, Leonard Elementary and Oxford Elementary as an art teacher.
Cosey did her student teaching in Oxford at OMS in 2004 and, after 13 years of professional work, is excited to return to the place where she got her start.
She and her spouse of four years are also looking forward to moving themselves back into Oakland County after living in Arizona because Cosey’s family lives nearby in Waterford.
Sara Jacobs
In her first year of teaching, Jacobs is looking forward to teaching her favorite subject, Spanish, at Daniel Axford Elementary. She recently graduated with an elementary education degree from Alma College and did her student teaching in Shepard and Grand Haven schools.
“Not only will I get to experience such a wonderful town and community, but I will have the opportunity to grow as a teacher while teaching my favorite subject,” Jacobs said.
Brittany Jakubik 
OHS’s newest Spanish teacher, Jakubik, has spent her professional career both teaching English speakers Spanish and Spanish speakers English. She has taught Spanish in Michigan for five years and spent one year in Spain teaching English.
She hopes in this new position at OHS, she’ll be able to give students a unique perspective on Spanish because of her experiences abroad.
Erica House
Although House has been teaching Spanish for 18 years, this academic year will mark her first permanent teaching position at a school. In the past, she has translated, tutored and taught Spanish for a variety of businesses. She’ll be teaching at OMS and Leonard Elementary.
Not only does House teach, but Spanish is part of her everyday life.
“I got married in Mexico in 2000,” she said. “My husband is an electronic engineer… and we visit his family every year in Amecameca, Mexico. We speak Spanish in the home with our seven children, who all also have dual United States and Mexican citizenship.”
Baizley Howell
While Howell teaches biology and chemistry at OHS she will be studying for her master’s degree at Oakland University. Before accepting this position, she was a substitute teacher for the Oxford, Clarkston and Rochester districts.
While sharing her love of science in the classroom, she hopes to build relationships with her students and colleagues.
Stephanie O’Connell
Geometry and Pre-Calculus students could be learning from O’Connell this fall at OHS. In her first year of teaching, O’Connell is excited to get to know her students.
If students are lucky, perhaps O’Connell will show them some photos of her dog, Duke, to ease that midterm and finals stress.