Teacher Spotlights

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…