LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. — A longtime science teacher at The Out-of-Door Academy in Lakewood Ranch wasn’t going to let COVID-19 get in the way of doing what he loves.

What You Need To Know

  • Mike Newhams survived lymphatic cancer and is immunocompromised

  • Out-of-Door Academy helped create an outdoor classroom so Newhams could keep teaching

  • Newhams has taught at the school for 22 years

Mike Newhams has been a staple at the private school for the last 22 years. He survived a type of lymphatic cancer and was left immunocompromised, which means that catching the virus could spell disaster.

“From the radiation therapy my lungs are just torn up, so they don’t clear themselves well," he said. "A lung infection disease really spells doom for me.”

When it was time to return to school in August, Newhams said he spoke with his doctors about his plan to come back to the classroom.

“When I said, 'What do you think about me going back to the classroom in the fall?' They said no. Not happening,” Newhams said.

So instead of trying to host interactive science labs on Zoom, he spoke with administration and in five days they threw together a new plan.

They cleared the school’s breezeway of lockers and outfitted it with computers, walls of whiteboards, and every piece of technology needed to hold class outdoors. Now the breezeway is better known as Mr. Newhams's science classroom.

Margaret Buck, a senior, said Newhams's class is a bright spot in her day. His energy and kindness towards his students motivates her.

“I’m very lucky that he’s motivated to be here and is putting himself at risk to teach us,” she said.

Newhams said he’s grateful to be able to keep his job and interact with his students a daily basis.

“His class makes us feel like everything is normal again,” Buck said.