Teacher Spotlights

Jill Fett is something of a bookworm. Give her a good book and you may as well forget about her until she’s finished it. But it wasn’t always …

Thirty-one years in a school district can bring lots of change, but one unwavering thing Brian Sauerbrei holds onto is his love for teaching.

After graduating from college in May, Ryan Dalton had his first job interview to be a teacher at South Hardin High School.

Jessica Nystel has spent the past eight years on the Iowa Falls-Alden High School teaching staff, and she credits the wide variety of opportun…

Shayna Engelhardt knew early on that a career in education was in her future. She attributes her love of teaching to her grandmother, Florence…

AGWSR's Carmen Oelmann doesn't have the time and energy for vacation right now. The second-grade teacher spends too much time taking care of f…

When Christine Burchfield is in a room full of adults, she feels awkward. But put a child in that group, and she gravitates toward them.

Sydney McDonald did not have to journey too far to find where she belonged.

Asked to reflect on why she wanted to be a Family and Consumer Sciences teacher, Stacy Zoske believes that her students can take the life skil…

Lindsey Warmbier didn’t really like school when she was growing up. But that changed with the guidance of a great teacher. She was raised in T…

Samantha Hagen’s classroom is awfully quiet considering it contains eight kindergartners.

Nick Eller is no stranger to education. The Radcliffe native graduated from Hubbard-Radcliffe High School in 1999 and went on to Ellsworth Com…

When Elizabeth Sheahan went looking for her first teaching job after graduating from college, she knew what she wanted. The Story City native …

One major world event set into motion Amber Owens’ career.

Reflecting on the near completion of his first year teaching 6-12 vocal music in the Iowa Falls School District, Brandon Waring admits it has …

Nineteen years after joining the staff at AGWSR, Ruth Matteson, remains in the district, finding it the perfect place to grow right along with…

Candi Meyer fittingly has a sweet tooth, or at least her family does.

Her own children led Kristin Topp to a career teaching other kids. After graduating from Humboldt High School and getting a two-year degree in…

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…

Teaching was not always the obvious path for Jacob Wise.

Kathryn Jass wanted to be a teacher when she was growing up, but her parents pushed her toward a business degree.

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.

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 …

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.

Ashley Kuker gets the best of both worlds, and she finds it every day in a place that feels like home.

Lisa LaVelle had a goal in mind after she graduated from college – she wanted to stay in Hardin County.

Rachel Bartels has carried a passion for the Spanish language as far back as her days of attending high school in Ames.

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…

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…

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…

Jacki Nachazel’s classroom gives students something few people receive in school, if ever. The gift of time.

Sheila Long believes a big part of her role as a special education teacher is to help students interpret their school work.

Dee Priske remembers playing teacher when she was little.

Robin Neely’s interest in special education began after she learned her daughter had autism. She started immersing herself in the disorder, ev…

Teaching fourth graders can be challenging under the best of circumstances, but this year has been one of the most difficult for veteran Alden…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Thirty years ago, Brenda Glaser’s South Hardin Middle School students may have been threading a sewing machine or stirring ingredients for a c…

As a little girl, Kate Hornung was so devoted to her future profession, nothing could pull her away from playing school - not even exhaustion.…

Between her husband and three sports-crazy sons, Kay Madden lives around plenty of testosterone - but she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Kody Moses is in the midst of his seventh year teaching social studies at Iowa Falls-Alden High School.

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…

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…

There was never any doubt in Ashley Davis’ mind that she would become a teacher someday.

Ross Schumaker was in elementary school when his path to becoming a music teacher began.

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.

Wendy Cooper's not shy.

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…

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 …

Heather Chamberlain’s path to becoming a high school science teacher was anything but a direct route.

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.

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.

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…

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…

James Abbas, AGWSR High School’s industrial technology/agriculture instructor, graduated from the very halls he now teaches within. In 1999, t…

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…

For the past four years Teresa Williamson has moved from the classroom at Eldora-New Providence Elementary to a different position that still …

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 …

Good experiences with his teachers while a student at Buffalo Center guided Paul Miller into teaching. What he thought his life needed, led hi…

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 …

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…

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…

Ruth Halvorsen has always liked school, and that eventually led her to a career teaching at South Hardin High School.

Mary Nederhoff has seen a lot of change in her 36 years of teaching math. 

Kelsey Chaplin started teaching a little out of jealousy, a little out of amazement.

Ask Gregg Winters what’s difficult about his job and you’ll see him struggle to find an answer.

AGWSR High School science instructor and assistant girls basketball coach Mike Finger has lived in many places, returning back to his roots in…

Ladana Van Eschen — a REACH (Respect, Effort, Attitude, Cooperation, Honesty) classroom teacher and Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI) Director…

Cam Schipper, AGWSR third grade teacher, has never wanted to be anything but an educator.

For as long as Jen Konomi can remember, she has wanted to be a teacher.

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…

This is Dawn Webb’s 33rd year of teaching. It all started even before graduating from high school.

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…

It didn’t take Dana Counsell much time to fit in with the rest of the staff at Iowa Falls-Alden High School.

Wayne Lu was working as the admissions coordinator for the school of music at the University of Minnesota and was a French horn instructor.

Teaching was something that Joylyn Cobb has always wanted to do.

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…

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…

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…

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.…

Amy Bear has been teaching first grade in Wellsburg for a decade now and she wouldn't trade for any other grade level.

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…

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…

Dave Showalter is a second-generation social studies teacher. He follows in the footsteps of his father, Delwyn Showalter, who serves students…

If you want to stump Jayne Becker, ask the first grade teacher what career she’d choose if she couldn’t be a teacher.

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…

The energy Kristin Elerding exudes is contagious, especially to the dozen or so preschoolers in her class.

Briana Gronoski hasn’t been teaching long, but she is already learning new things to help her in the classroom.

Originally, Sadie Pfantz didn’t see herself as a teacher, but that changed when her daughter was born.

AGWSR fifth grade teacher Tracy Hames grew up on a farm near St. Ansgar with her parents and two sisters. Following graduation, Hames attended…

Music teacher Harvey Nicholson brought a different perspective to Iowa Falls when he started working at Rock Run Elementary and Riverbend Midd…

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…

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…

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 …

Unlike many college graduates, Brendon McNulty did not have a five-year plan in mind.

Christy Koop, AGWSR High School Spanish teacher, has never wanted to be anything but a teacher. Growing up in Bloomington, Minn., a young Koop…

When Jennifer Winters was hired to teach kindergarten at Iowa Falls’ Pineview Elementary School in 2005, she thought she might spend a couple …

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…

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 …

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…

Matt Becker’s high school math instructor was his father Jerry, and the love for that subject was passed down to him.

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…

Kim Hartford’s path to teaching wasn’t straight, but once she found her way, she knew it was where she belonged.

Zach Allison had great experiences as a student. His admiration of several teachers eventually led him to become one himself. It’s those exper…

With notes that were perhaps a little too sharp, flat or muted, AGWSR’s sixth-graders received nothing but encouragement from music teacher Am…

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…

Her official title may have changed, but the lessons and experiences are the same.

James Gronewold grew up in Cleves and attended AGWSR from kindergarten through his graduation in 2004. He serves as the AGWSR High School scie…

Alden Elementary's fifth-year kindergarten teacher Lisa Doering has come a long way from her first teaching job in Slovakia. Since graduating …

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 …

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,…

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…

Teaching is in Kelsey Nilles’ blood.

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…

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…

Becoming a teacher was a natural decision for AGWSR’s Deb Oldenburger. Oldenburger teaches reading and language, Family Consumer Science and C…

The children in Kaylee Borcherding’s first grade classroom at Pineview Elementary are more than students. They’re like her own kids.

Teaching is a labor of love for most who do it. For Hubbard-Radcliffe’s Shannon Smuck, it’s become much, much more.

Francie Off, sixth grade social studies teacher at Alden Elementary, said teaching is her second career. She worked at the hospital for about …

This year marks a milestone anniversary for Daryl Hartwig. He has been teaching math in the Eldora-New Providence School District for 30 years.

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…

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…

Lori Schmitt has never wavered. From a young age she knew she wanted to work with kids.

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…

When South Hardin Middle School teacher Nicole Briggs started college, she was there to take business classes. She wanted to focus on marketing.

When Kati Stephens was in third grade she knew she wanted to become a teacher.

Currently in her ninth year on the staff at Riverbend Middle School, Alden native Jessica Christensen can’t envision working anywhere else.

After growing up in Pella, AGWSR Middle School teacher Megan Nederhoff attended Dordt College where she earned degree in elementary education …

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…

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.

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…

When Thomas Howe was offered the science job at South Hardin High School, he declined. Only after he met with administration, and his girlfrie…

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…