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Careers<br />
Well Spent<br />
BY JENNIFER STANLEY<br />
PHOTOS BY BRANDY STRAIN-DAYER<br />
AND SUBMITTED PHOTOS<br />
For decades, Steve and Cheryl Daniels spent late summer preparing<br />
for the hustle and bustle of a new school year. This year, the<br />
lifelong educators are embracing their new roles as retirees.<br />
The couple are parents to twins. Son Kyle lives in Little Rock and<br />
works for Stryker Orthopaedics, and daughter Kayla lives in Fayetteville<br />
with husband, Brandon White, where she teaches and coaches<br />
in Springdale. Kayla and Brandon have a three-year-old daughter,<br />
Leighton, and a baby girl on the way.<br />
Cheryl is a Forrest City native, and Steve grew up in North Little Rock.<br />
As fate would have it, they met at their respective first teaching jobs<br />
at Rose City Junior High School in North Little Rock. “He was the<br />
football coach when I started teaching special education. On my first<br />
day at Rose City, another teacher was showing me around and said I<br />
had to meet the football coach. When I got home that night, I told my<br />
roommate that I’d met my husband — although he didn’t know it yet,”<br />
says Cheryl. The Daniels’ have now been married for 32 years.<br />
Following his tenure at Rose City, Steve worked at Northeast High<br />
School, North Little Rock High School, and Conway High School,<br />
coaching at each school. After coaching in Conway for 14 years,<br />
he served as assistant principal for five years and as athletic director<br />
for eight years. Cheryl taught special education at each of the same<br />
schools. At the time of their retirement, Steve had served as an educator<br />
for 38 years and Cheryl for 36 years.<br />
Cheryl also spearheaded Caring Cats, a service learning organization at<br />
Conway High School. “We officially started the club in 2005 but had<br />
been doing some of the main projects for several years. Its purpose<br />
is twofold: First, to help individuals, families, or groups with a need.<br />
Second, to provide students with an avenue and resources to help<br />
others,” Cheryl explains. The organization has a membership of over<br />
200 students and performs planned and random acts of kindness<br />
throughout the school year. “We have some annual events, such<br />
Angel Paws, which provides help for families in our school district at<br />
Christmas. The Powder Puff football game raises money for Special<br />
Olympics. Other events vary each year. The past two years we had the<br />
opportunity to provide a new book for every student at Ida Burns and<br />
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