Some love stories start in the twisting line of a local coffee shop. Others start at the discovery of a mutual love over New York Times bestsellers at the neighborhood bookstore, or with that across-the-room glance of helpless affection between former high school sweethearts. For a select two, this love story began with a TI-81 calculator, symbolic of an affinity for academics and mathematics and an ode to where it all began.

It is the mutual love of all things scholastic and nerdy that keeps Mathematics Curriculum Coordinator Reynold Middleton and his wife, Student Records/Learning Management System Coordinator Elizabeth Middleton, close and fuels their respective passions for teaching.

“We met in 1990 or 1991, I can’t remember. It was when Texas Instruments came out with their first graphing calculator, the TI-81,” Middleton said. “Nobody knew how to use a graphing calculator because the technology didn’t exist, so they taught classes all across the United States for math and science teachers.”

In this particular class full of older teachers, it didn’t take long for Middleton to find a group of fellow younger teachers that he could converse with during the weekly classes. Among the people in this group was Elizabeth.

“One class we got there early and [Elizabeth] and another math teacher from Sion were both there and we were the only ones there so we couldn’t really ignore each other,” Middleton said. “So the two groups started talking, and after that our groups would always sit together in the class, and that’s actually how we [first] met.”

Before they were brought together through fate of the Texas Instruments, Middleton was employed at Northeast High School and Elizabeth had been teaching science classes at Sion since 1986.

“I had Mrs. Middleton for an honors chemistry class and I remember it very well and her being a very clear teacher,” alumna and Assistant Director of High School Admissions Rachel Paradise said. “She was definitely one of the best teachers that I had. I remember thinking she was the smartest person and she’s still [one] of the smartest people in the building.”

Middleton began working at Sion in 1999 and the two have been co-workers ever since. However, they don’t get to see each other much throughout the work day due to their conflicting schedules.

“We don’t come and go at the same time, especially during cross country season, I’m here way early and I’m here way late,” Middleton said. “We don’t really see each other during the day [either] because I’m teaching six classes and during fourth hour I go and eat and come back, so I don’t really see anybody.”

Although this kind of situation may not seem ideal, it has proven to be a healthier way for the two to maintain a strong separation between work and home life, according to Elizabeth.

“It’s probably better that way, because most people don’t spend time at work and at home with the person that they’re married to. That would probably be a really bad idea,” Elizabeth said. “In fact, if you ask almost any other people who are married, ‘Would you want to spend all day together?’ They would say, ‘uh, no.’”

Outside of work, the Middletons share a common affinity for science fiction movies and television shows, particularly with anything involving Star Trek.

“We’re just really nerdy. We like to go see Star Wars movies and Star Trek,” Elizabeth said. “If we could still fit into them, we’d probably wear our Star Trek costumes that we both have.”

In their years of service for Sion, both Middletons have shown avid support for the school and have put in lots of pride and hard work into their jobs.

“They treated each of us like their own daughter. They were always there to help during and after class,” alumna Brelahn Wyatt said. “I also played volleyball and ran track and they were at so many of our meets and games that you could tell they were investing in us as people and not just as students.”

This consistent support for the school and its students has paid off in their positive reputation, even spawning a unique cheer in their name.

“It is a little known fact that the Middletons have their own cheer,” Assistant Principal for Student Life Fran Koehler said. “I was at a Sion vs STA game one year and STA was winning. [They] started chanting ‘this is our house’ and our girls chanted back ‘we’ve got the Middletons!’ It was hilarious because STA obviously didn’t know what that meant.”

In the classroom, both Middletons have proven their aptitude for teaching, and continue to exhibit a hardworking nature both in and out of the classroom.

“What I hear from the students is that they are good teachers but tough,” Koehler said. “They are very professional and obviously love what they do to be at Sion for as long as they have been here.”

In terms of their teaching styles, both Middletons tend to adopt a rigorous curriculum, with there even being the daunting “double Mid”, infamous for its difficulty upon those who took their classes simultaneously.

“The ‘double Mid’ used to be a thing,” Middleton said. “People always thought ‘Oh, I bet you guys are at home at dinner talking about making [tests] the hardest.’ We didn’t really do it on purpose.”

Overall, though, they make the work hard to ensure their students are prepared for college and beyond, according to Wyatt.

“The ‘double Mid’ was definitely challenging, but overall it prepared me for balancing my science and math courses in college better than any other combination of classes I took in high school,” Wyatt said.

Like-minded and equally nerdy, the Middletons maintain a strong marriage and successful careers through a healthy work-and-home separation, continuing to put in their best every day and boldly teach where no one has taught before.