Known for having high expectations for her students and high standards for herself, Cheryl Fentress made a significant impact during her forty-year career in education. Her love of science was infectious, and she built an enduring legacy within the science department. From innovative lab experiments to the prioritization of the District Science Fair, Fentress was critical to Bartlesville Public Schools’ long history of success in the sciences. Her ability to capture and hold the attention of her students and her inspirational curricular development were key factors in her being selected as one of three retired educators being inducted into the Bartlesville Public Schools Foundation’s Educator Hall of Fame this April.
Fentress was born and raised in Springfield, Missouri. Her parents were dairy farmers and still live in Fentress’ childhood home. After graduating from Mount Vernon High School, Fentress moved to Oklahoma to study chemistry at University of Tulsa. Influenced by high-quality educators, she changed her major during her sophomore year to secondary education, with a focus in chemistry and math.
Fentress graduated from University of Tulsa in 1982 and took her first job as a math and science teacher in Pawhuska. Teaching five different courses a day, she was in survival mode, barely having time to adequately prepare lessons for her students. There was no time for growth. So three years later, when Central Middle School’s principal, Earl Sears, offered Fentress the chance to teach seventh grade life science in Bartlesville, she jumped at the opportunity.
After three years in that role, she briefly left the classroom to further her own education, earning her Masters in Biological Sciences from her alma mater, the University of Tulsa. Those two years of study reaffirmed for Fentress that teaching was what she was meant to do.
With her Masters, she returned to her former role as a seventh grade life science teacher. She loved the energy of her seventh graders and spoke highly of their enthusiasm for learning; but by 2003, Fentress felt that she could no longer match her students’ youthful energy and she was ready to teach biology at a higher level.
Principal Fred Bailey hired Fentress to teach both traditional and honors biology at the Mid-High. When Bartlesville High School expanded to a four year school, she continued there as a high school biology teacher, including developing a microbiology lab, until she retired in 2022.
In her role, she worked to align the traditional and honors track biology curricula, including developing new lab experiences while maintaining the advanced nature and rigor of the honors program. Fentress brought in the first saltwater aquarium to Central and created a robust lab experience around monarch butterflies for her students at the Mid-High. Many of the labs she created during her career are still used by students today. She believed that understanding engaging in scientific inquiry was crucial to build critical thinking skills, so she focused forty percent of her curriculum on lab work.
Cheryl was a perfect fit to sustain the requirement that all honors biology students complete an independent research project and participate in the District Science Fair, creating a solid foundation for subsequent honors and Advanced Placement science courses and projects. Through the years, hundreds of student projects were submitted for competition at the state and international levels and many of her former students are now working in scientific fields.
Cheryl’s teaching prowess was recognized by her being named Central’s Teacher of the Year in 1998 and Bartlesville High School Teacher of the Year in 2019. She earned National Board Certification, served as a President of the Bartlesville Education Association, and received the prestigious U.S. Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching.
As with many of the best educators, Fentress most enjoyed the connections she made with her students. She speaks fondly of standing at a student’s elbow as he or she saw something through the microscope for the first time. Fentress was always focused on how she could foster curiosity and develop a love of science in her students.
While retirement has given Fentress the opportunity to pursue personal interests like sewing, reading, and growing salsa-bound tomatillos, Fentress remains connected to the education community. She often serves as a substitute teacher at Central and the High School, and keeps tabs on the changes in public education at the state and local level. She and her husband Tom have two children, both Bartlesville graduates, and two grandchildren. Their son, Craig, attended West Point and flies helicopters in the Army. He’s currently stationed at Fort Bliss with his family. After a time in the Peace Corps, Fentress’s daughter, Beth, settled in Wisconsin where she is an elementary school speech therapist. Cheryl and Tom often travel to visit their family, including Cheryl’s sister in Maine and her parents in Missouri.
The Bartlesville Public Schools Foundation has been investing in students and staff members within the district since 1985. Over the decades, the non-profit organization has funded more than $4 million in creative projects outside of the traditional state, local and federal sources to support state-of-the-art instruction. The money generated by the Educator Hall of Fame event on April 3, 2025, will help fund the organization’s programs.
This event is open to the public and tickets are available for $35 through the BPS Foundation’s website.