Following Heather Kinney’s departure last year, Fleetwood Area High School has introduced the new teacher that will be instructing the culinary classes: Mrs. Jennifer Starkey.
Starkey–residing in room 110–brings a variety of experience to Fleetwood. She will be teaching Culinary I, Culinary II, Healthy Eating, and Child Development.
In the past, Starkey taught at Wilson West Middle School in Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania.
“I taught middle school grades sixth, seventh, and eighth, and we did cooking. When [students] were in eighth grade, they got to choose between two classes, which was food and nutrition and interior design and sewing,” Starkey said regarding her experience at Wilson.
In addition to the classes Starkey currently teaches, she is also hoping to introduce three new classes in the following years: hand sewing, interior design, and fashion design.
On Starkey’s first day at Fleetwood, she felt “extremely nervous,” which she attributed to the fact that she was transitioning from a middle school to a high school environment.
As for activity outside of Fleetwood, Starkey is involved in various musical activities, such as helping out with Fleetwood’s theatre dance department.
Starkey has had multiple favorite musicals. Her favorite growing up was The Sound of Music written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. She says her experience participating in school musicals has changed that opinion, though; now, her favorite musicals are The Addams Family and Shrek, as “they were incredibly fun shows.”
Starkey’s favorite writer and producer is Amy Sherman-Palladino, creator of shows The Gilmore Girls and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Starkey appreciates her for her musical-like dialogue.
“I like how she creates her dialogue,” Starkey said. “It’s almost musical, how their cadence is when they speak to each other, and her scenery and costumes mimic musicals, which I love, so it’s cool to see that on a TV show.”
Regarding family life, Starkey has four children, aged 10, 12, 13, and 14. All of her children are involved in various sports and school activities, which requires Starkey to have the hobby of “running my kids around to all of their activities.”
Starkey also has a German Shepherd Collie named Arlo, who Starkey describes as being “incredibly active and hyper.”
Starkey brings a vast amount of experience to Fleetwood, and she is looking forward to dedicating herself to Fleetwood’s culinary program, providing planning and coordination assistance to her daughter’s dance studio, working on the fall musical at Kutztown, and helping Kutztown with their student music program.
Additionally, in her college years, Starkey had a brief career as a makeup artist for the Delaware Opera and The Savoy company, a non-profit theatrical organization.
The Tiger Times 
Posted on March 2, 2026 by thetigertimes
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