Some teachers have worked in the same building they graduated from. Others have even worked in the same building that their children attend. 

Not many, however, have worked in the same building as their spouse.

This is a reality for Mark and Barbara Lansing, who teach social studies and physical education, respectively, and have very impressive coaching resumes. Combined, the duo have coached volleyball, boys and girls tennis, boys and girls golf, boys and girls basketball, softball, soccer and collegiate bowling. 

Despite having coached multiple different teams, Barbara Lansing was quick to say that volleyball is her favorite sport to coach.

“(I love) the pace of the game and the way that the players can pull together and really just make a dominant effect on the other,” Barbara Lansing said. “It just seems to be where I draw to as far as how the kids respond.”

Mark Lansing is a graduate of Boone High School in Orlando, Florida, the University of Maryland and National Louis University Florida Campus. Barbara Lansing graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), but her high schooling was completed overseas through the military. 

Both served in the military before moving to South Carolina in December 2019. Barbara and Mark Lansing emphasized the family brought them to the Upstate.

“We moved to South Carolina because of the grandbabies,” Barbara Lansing said. “We have one who lives in Atlanta and has auto-immune disease, so she is in a wheelchair, and we wanted to be able to be closer to them to help out.”

“We were planning on moving up here anyway,” Mark Lansing said. “We have grandkids in Black Mountain (N.C.), and we have grandkids over in Georgia, so we moved up to the middle.”

Believe it or not, this is not the first time the Lansing family has worked in the same building. According to both of them, however, it isn’t much different from working separately, but there are a few perks.

“We’ve been teaching about 30ish years, and about half the time, we’ve been in the same building,” Mark Lansing said. “The biggest (advantage) would be driving in and driving home together and being able to share that stuff a little bit sooner.”

“We actually don’t interact a whole lot during the day just simply because we teach two different subjects,” Barbara Lansing said. “We enjoy it. We can kind of compare notes and help each other out as far as school things go.”

The Lansings agree that while coming to Chapman has been a transition, the change has been for the better.

“The culture here is very different than Florida,” Barbara Lansing said. “I don’t think I have ever been ‘ma’amed’ more than I have here in South Carolina which again says a lot about the culture and how the kids are and how they all grow up.”

“The kids are so much more focused on their work; their behavior is impeccable,” Mark Lansing said. “The support from the staff has been amazing, teachers help each other out, and the values here are much more in line with our values.”

Barbara and Mark Lansing are confident that they can use their own talents and their teamwork to better Chapman High School. 

“As a husband and wife, we are a pretty strong team together,” Barbara Lansing said. “We can help each other and help Chapman.”