At the end of this school year, U.S. history teacher Fara Stewart will retire from Chapman.

Stewart has taught at Chapman for 22 years and has 28 years of teaching experience overall.

“Chapman is a great school,” Stewart said. “I am lucky to have spent most of my career at CHS. I valued the support of the collaborative colleagues and administrators I worked with. Working together for a common goal makes everyone better at their job.”

Junior Keilon Tucker said his favorite part of Stewart’s class is Stewart herself.

“She is really interesting to learn history from,” Tucker said. “She’s really positive to be around.”

Junior Annastyn Smith also spoke highly of Stewart.

“The thing I love most about Mrs. Stewart is how caring she is about her students,” Smith said. “She was always making sure her students understood the material, and she was always encouraging. I am going to miss her kindness and genuine care for her students.”

Smith said Stewart cared about more than grades.

“She impacted me as a teacher because she didn’t want the class to be all about grades and just wanted everyone to try their best,” Smith said.

Stewart said people had always told her she would know when it was time to retire.

“Some things fell into place financially and personally to allow 2026 to be that time for me,” Stewart said.

As she prepares to leave the classroom, Stewart said she hopes to leave a meaningful legacy.

“I hope students left my classroom with greater empathy, greater curiosity and a desire to always learn,” Stewart said. “I hope I taught students to think critically and consider multiple points of view. Most of all, I hope I provided a small space where students were loved and accepted without condition.”

After retiring, Stewart said she will miss her students most.

“I will miss the students,” Stewart said. “Y’all keep me from feeling as old as I really am.”