Teacher Spotlights
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- By Sara Konrad Baranowski
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Music education is in Mike Moehlman’s blood. He’s the fourth – and likely last – generation of his family to teach music. And after a childhoo…
- By Justin Ites
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Kathryn Jass wanted to be a teacher when she was growing up, but her parents pushed her toward a business degree.
- By Becky Schipper
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AGWSR’s Codie Duhn is the first to admit that her career as a preschool and special education teacher is the second of her life.
- By Matthew Rezab
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Alden Elementary’s Bryana Caviness is one of the few teachers in the school who interacts with student in every grade, and that’s the way she …
- By Corey Meints
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Ashley Smith always looked up to her older sister. With five years between them, she got to experience a lot, and that led her to teaching.
- By Sara Konrad Baranowski
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Ashley Kuker gets the best of both worlds, and she finds it every day in a place that feels like home.
- By Marissa VanWingen
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Lisa LaVelle had a goal in mind after she graduated from college – she wanted to stay in Hardin County.
- By Justin Ites
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Rachel Bartels has carried a passion for the Spanish language as far back as her days of attending high school in Ames.
- By Becky Schipper
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Bill Huebner joined the staff at AGWSR at the start of the current school year as the high school English instructor. Huebner’s connection wit…
- By Matthew Rezab
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It may have taken Donylle Houston forty years to get there, but the first day she stepped foot inside Alden Elementary School as a student tea…
- By Corey Meints
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Tyler Hoelscher can do more than carry a tune. A lot more. The Hubbard-Radcliffe Elementary and South Hardin Middle School music and band teac…
- By Sara Konrad Baranowski
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Jacki Nachazel’s classroom gives students something few people receive in school, if ever. The gift of time.
- By Justin Ites
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Sheila Long believes a big part of her role as a special education teacher is to help students interpret their school work.
- By Becky Schipper
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Robin Neely’s interest in special education began after she learned her daughter had autism. She started immersing herself in the disorder, ev…
- By Matthew Rezab
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Teaching fourth graders can be challenging under the best of circumstances, but this year has been one of the most difficult for veteran Alden…
- By Corey Meints
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Jacey Ellis didn’t have to go far – from home or family – to teach. From Roland, the Hubbard-Radcliffe fourth grade teacher chose her career b…
- By Sara Konrad Baranowski
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Jenn Kulow is a planner. As a child, she planned to go to college to become a teacher. In college, she planned for her future career. Even now…
- By Marissa VanWingen
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Five years after Alex Holt graduated from college and earned his teaching endorsement, he still hadn’t found a job in a classroom. He was star…
- By Justin Ites
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Nate Roemer expected there would be a few challenges in his first year teaching in a new school district, but the coronavirus pandemic has put…
- By Becky Schipper
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Craig Johnson, a native of Holland, Mich., joined the staff at AGWSR High School this fall. He and his wife, Janet, who’ve been married for 28…
- By Corey Meints
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Thirty years ago, Brenda Glaser’s South Hardin Middle School students may have been threading a sewing machine or stirring ingredients for a c…
- By Sara Konrad Baranowski
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As a little girl, Kate Hornung was so devoted to her future profession, nothing could pull her away from playing school - not even exhaustion.…
- By Matthew Rezab
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Between her husband and three sports-crazy sons, Kay Madden lives around plenty of testosterone - but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
- By Marissa VanWingen
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Maggie Roy has always wanted to work with kids, but she didn’t know exactly what she wanted to do.
- By Justin Ites
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Kody Moses is in the midst of his seventh year teaching social studies at Iowa Falls-Alden High School.
- By Becky Schipper
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AGWSR’s vocal music instructor, Kim Medick, has been teaching in the district for a decade. She grew up north of Des Moines in the small commu…
- By Justin Ites
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When Ryan Kuker and his wife Ashley — both Wartburg College graduates — were looking for teaching jobs, they decided to draw a circle on a map…
- By Marissa VanWingen
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There was never any doubt in Ashley Davis’ mind that she would become a teacher someday.
- By Corey Meints
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Ben French knew as a high school senior that he wanted to be a teacher. He just didn’t know how far he was willing to go to be one.
- By Justin Ites
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Ross Schumaker was in elementary school when his path to becoming a music teacher began.
- By Marissa VanWingen
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A meaningful relationship with one of her own elementary school teachers made Diedre Howe realize that teaching was the path she was meant to take.
- By Sara Konrad Baranowski
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First experiences are often the most memorable, so this year could very well stick with Grace Bryan for the rest of her life. The 2019 Iowa St…
- By Becky Schipper
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Cindy Stewart has always had a passion for education. This school year will mark her final year at AGWSR as she plans her retirement after 30 …
- By Justin Ites
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Heather Chamberlain’s path to becoming a high school science teacher was anything but a direct route.
- By Marissa VanWingen
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Nancy Cook wasn’t looking to stay in Hardin County forever. She wasn’t even sure that she wanted to be a teacher right away.
- By Matthew Rezab
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AGWSR’s Dan Karsjens gets to see it all. From kindergartners barely able to pick up a ball, to eighth-graders who can hang on the rim.
- By Corey Meints
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When Martea Engelson graduated from Alden High School in 1992, she didn’t have to think very long about what she wanted to do with the rest of…
- By Sara Konrad Baranowski
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Christa Henry had every intention of being a first grade teacher. She’d grown up around her grandmother, who taught school in Alden, and she c…
- By Becky Schipper
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James Abbas, AGWSR High School’s industrial technology/agriculture instructor, graduated from the very halls he now teaches within. In 1999, t…
- By Justin Ites
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When she was a teenager, Paula Goodknight had aspirations of moving to Nashville to become a country music singer. When those plans didn’t com…
- By Marissa VanWingen
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For the past four years Teresa Williamson has moved from the classroom at Eldora-New Providence Elementary to a different position that still …
- By Matthew Rezab
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Sheli Duit’s first-grade classroom has a lot of things you’d expect for a room full of 6-year-olds, but a closer look reveals an affinity for …
- By Corey Meints
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Good experiences with his teachers while a student at Buffalo Center guided Paul Miller into teaching. What he thought his life needed, led hi…
- By Sara Konrad Baranowski
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There are a lot of things Laura Hoover might do if she weren’t a teacher. But, fortunately for her students and coworkers at Iowa Falls’ Rock …
- By Becky Schipper
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Chad Gerbracht is more than a teacher and coach. Gerbracht serves the district as middle school science teacher and as the high school head wr…
- By Justin Ites
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After 22 years on the Iowa Falls-Alden High School staff, Kayleen Truex has become a vital part of the fabric of the school. The Denison nativ…
- By Marissa VanWingen
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Ruth Halvorsen has always liked school, and that eventually led her to a career teaching at South Hardin High School.
- By Matthew Rezab
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Mary Nederhoff has seen a lot of change in her 36 years of teaching math.Â
- By Corey Meints
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Kelsey Chaplin started teaching a little out of jealousy, a little out of amazement.
- By Sara Konrad Baranowski
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Ask Gregg Winters what’s difficult about his job and you’ll see him struggle to find an answer.
- By Becky Schipper
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AGWSR High School science instructor and assistant girls basketball coach Mike Finger has lived in many places, returning back to his roots in…
- By Justin Ites
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Ladana Van Eschen — a REACH (Respect, Effort, Attitude, Cooperation, Honesty) classroom teacher and Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI) Director…
- By Becky Schipper
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Cam Schipper, AGWSR third grade teacher, has never wanted to be anything but an educator.
- By Marissa VanWingen
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For as long as Jen Konomi can remember, she has wanted to be a teacher.
- By Matthew Rezab
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Alden Elementary’s Becky Young has felt like she’s had a work family since taking the job in 2016, but her home family has been expanding duri…
- By Corey Meints
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This is Dawn Webb’s 33rd year of teaching. It all started even before graduating from high school.
- By Sara Konrad Baranowski
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Brittane VanHove didn’t think she wanted to be a teacher. In grade school she was reprimanded for talking too much in class. She didn’t like b…
- By Justin Ites
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It didn’t take Dana Counsell much time to fit in with the rest of the staff at Iowa Falls-Alden High School.
- By Marissa VanWingen
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Wayne Lu was working as the admissions coordinator for the school of music at the University of Minnesota and was a French horn instructor.
- By Justin Ites
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Jessie Van Hove, a Wellsburg native and 2006 AGWSR High School graduate, was plenty familiary with the Hardin County area when she was hired l…
- By Becky Schipper
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Susan Brandt, who teaches second grade at AGWSR Elementary School, can’t get enough of the children in her classroom. Each holds a special pla…
- By Sara Konrad Baranowski
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Emily England knew she wanted to be a teacher, but it took encouragement from mentors to send her down the path to where she finds herself tod…
- By Corey Meints
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When Kelly Matteson was in school, she had a classmate who had nobody. That classmate had the brain and the work ethic, but no support system.…
- By Matthew Rezab
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Amy Bear has been teaching first grade in Wellsburg for a decade now and she wouldn't trade for any other grade level.
- By Marissa VanWingen
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Greg Pfantz’s grandparents lived on a farm when he was growing up and he was always involved in 4H. His love for agriculture grew from his tim…
- By Justin Ites
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Chelsie Meyer began teaching art in the Iowa Falls School District four years ago, and it didn’t take long her to realize how much the communi…
- By Becky Schipper
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Dave Showalter is a second-generation social studies teacher. He follows in the footsteps of his father, Delwyn Showalter, who serves students…
- By Sara Konrad Baranowski
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If you want to stump Jayne Becker, ask the first grade teacher what career she’d choose if she couldn’t be a teacher.
- By Corey Meints
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Megan Sandry has taught second and fifth grade, but calls first grade her home. Whatever grade she’s in front of, she said teaching was always…
- By Matthew Rezab
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The energy Kristin Elerding exudes is contagious, especially to the dozen or so preschoolers in her class.
- By Marissa VanWingen
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Briana Gronoski hasn’t been teaching long, but she is already learning new things to help her in the classroom.
- By Justin Ites
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Originally, Sadie Pfantz didn’t see herself as a teacher, but that changed when her daughter was born.
- By Becky Schipper
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AGWSR fifth grade teacher Tracy Hames grew up on a farm near St. Ansgar with her parents and two sisters. Following graduation, Hames attended…
- By Sara Konrad Baranowski
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Music teacher Harvey Nicholson brought a different perspective to Iowa Falls when he started working at Rock Run Elementary and Riverbend Midd…
- By Corey Meints
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Megan Wismer hasn’t been at South Hardin Middle School long. Her pregnancy and a move will cut her tenure to just a couple of years. While she…
- By Matthew Rezab
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Hands eagerly shoot up into the air after Jenn Rose asks her AGWSR sixth-grade language arts class what's wrong with a sentence she just finis…
- By Marissa VanWingen
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It wasn’t a straight path for Herbert Dardano to get into teaching. In fact, he took a long and winding road to get to where he is today. But …
- By Justin Ites
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Unlike many college graduates, Brendon McNulty did not have a five-year plan in mind.
- By Becky Schipper
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Christy Koop, AGWSR High School Spanish teacher, has never wanted to be anything but a teacher. Growing up in Bloomington, Minn., a young Koop…
- By Sara Konrad Baranowski
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When Jennifer Winters was hired to teach kindergarten at Iowa Falls’ Pineview Elementary School in 2005, she thought she might spend a couple …
- By Corey Meints
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Dena Zoske hasn’t strayed too far from home in her 46 years. Half of those years have been spent teaching in the same building where she atten…
- By Matthew Rezab
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Alden Elementary's sixth-grade teacher Blake Peck has two nieces and a nephew she adores, but she has more than a dozen kids of "her own" she …
- By Marissa VanWingen
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When Carey Winter was in high school she considered a profession in sports medicine. However, there was a part of her that always wanted to be…
- By Justin Ites
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Matt Becker’s high school math instructor was his father Jerry, and the love for that subject was passed down to him.
- By Becky Schipper
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Billie Jo Culver, AGWSR kindergarten teacher, never wanted to be anything but a teacher. As a child, she spent her days playing school, even s…
- By Sara Konrad Baranowski
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Kim Hartford’s path to teaching wasn’t straight, but once she found her way, she knew it was where she belonged.
- By Corey Meints
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Zach Allison had great experiences as a student. His admiration of several teachers eventually led him to become one himself. It’s those exper…
- By Matthew Rezab
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With notes that were perhaps a little too sharp, flat or muted, AGWSR’s sixth-graders received nothing but encouragement from music teacher Am…
- By Justin Ites
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A native of Alden, Denelle McWherter has worked at Riverbend Middle School for the past 15 years. The school counselor had plans of looking in…
- By Marissa VanWingen
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Her official title may have changed, but the lessons and experiences are the same.
- By Becky Schipper
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James Gronewold grew up in Cleves and attended AGWSR from kindergarten through his graduation in 2004. He serves as the AGWSR High School scie…
- By Sara Konrad Baranowski
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For as long as she can remember, Holly Barnhart has wanted to be a teacher.
- By Corey Meints
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Sarah Allison is a teacher, and that’s all she wanted to be. She loved school as a child, and grew up wanting to be the same positive influenc…
- By Matthew Rezab
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Alden Elementary's fifth-year kindergarten teacher Lisa Doering has come a long way from her first teaching job in Slovakia. Since graduating …
- By Marissa VanWingen
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Michelle Olson’s first job after graduating from Wartburg College was at Eldora-New Providence and she has been there ever since. That was 17 …
- By Justin Ites
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Originally from Eau Claire, Wis., Lisa Buss and her family moved to Hampton when she was 10 years old. While she spent most of her life there,…
- By Corey Meints
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Beth Janssen might not know exactly how a computer works, but she knows what one can do. As the AGWSR media specialist and librarian, she teac…
- By Joe Benedict
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Jessica Below originally wanted to go into the health field, maybe nursing when deciding on a career, but it was her favorite high school teac…
- By Justin Ites
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Karla Isaacson looks at her teaching career as one that has come full circle. She began student-teaching in the Iowa Falls School District, an…
- By Becky Schipper
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Becoming a teacher was a natural decision for AGWSR’s Deb Oldenburger. Oldenburger teaches reading and language, Family Consumer Science and C…
- By Sara Konrad Baranowski
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The children in Kaylee Borcherding’s first grade classroom at Pineview Elementary are more than students. They’re like her own kids.
- By Corey Meints
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Teaching is a labor of love for most who do it. For Hubbard-Radcliffe’s Shannon Smuck, it’s become much, much more.
- By Joe Benedict
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Francie Off, sixth grade social studies teacher at Alden Elementary, said teaching is her second career. She worked at the hospital for about …
- By Marissa VanWingen
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This year marks a milestone anniversary for Daryl Hartwig. He has been teaching math in the Eldora-New Providence School District for 30 years.
- By Justin Ites
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Originally from Grinnell, Steve Ritter moved to Eldora at the young age of two. He's loved the area so much, that he's spent the past 56 years…
- By Becky Schipper
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A local girl, AGWSR High School English teacher Julie Rau grew up on a farm near Iowa Falls. She chose a career in teaching based on a natural…
- By Sara Konrad Baranowski
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Lori Schmitt has never wavered. From a young age she knew she wanted to work with kids.
- By Corey Meints
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When Ryley Schipper was growing up in Ackley, he gravitated toward athletics. He went on to be a big part of AGWSR’s successes in everything h…
- By Joe Benedict
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When South Hardin Middle School teacher Nicole Briggs started college, she was there to take business classes. She wanted to focus on marketing.
- By Marissa VanWingen
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When Kati Stephens was in third grade she knew she wanted to become a teacher.
- By Justin Ites
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Currently in her ninth year on the staff at Riverbend Middle School, Alden native Jessica Christensen can’t envision working anywhere else.
- By Becky Schipper
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After growing up in Pella, AGWSR Middle School teacher Megan Nederhoff attended Dordt College where she earned degree in elementary education …
- By Sara Konrad Baranowski
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Becky Hunt doesn’t dread Mondays. She doesn’t need motivation to get up and go to work every morning. She’s one of those lucky people who love…
- By Corey Meints
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Michelle Pearson learned a long time ago that teaching was a job she could love for an entire career. Now 35 years into it, she still believes that.
- By Joe Benedict
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Shelly Moore teaches second grade at Alden Elementary School. She's a native of Nashua, Iowa, which she said is most closely connected with th…
- By Marissa VanWingen
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When Thomas Howe was offered the science job at South Hardin High School, he declined. Only after he met with administration, and his girlfrie…
- By Justin Ites
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A Minnesota native, Jim Herzog has made a home for himself at Iowa Falls-Alden High School. The science teacher is completing his 19th year in…
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