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New Teachers Join Westonka Staff
September 16, 2021 — Westonka Public Schools is proud to welcome several new teachers to the district for the 2021-2022 school year.
Hilltop Primary School
Kayla Schuman started her teaching career at Hilltop teaching kindergarten, then moved on to schools in Shakopee and Washington before returning to Hilltop, where she begins her eighth year of teaching kindergarten this year. Travis Swendseid is teaching third-grade at Hilltop after teaching sixth-grade in the Hopkins district last year. Prior to teaching, he received his degree in civil engineering but went back to school to become a teacher because of his passions for teaching and kids.
Luci Drill, fourth-grade teacher, came to Hilltop from Shakopee, where she previously taught fourth-grade and kindergarten. She brings in-depth knowledge of curriculum and instruction to her team. Shelby Bjerkaas is teaching media and is job sharing with Michelle Hempel. Bjerkaas joined Hilltop last year as a long term sub for distance learning students. She is a parent to two awesome Westonka students and a great addition to the specialist team, according to Principal Mike Moch.
New teachers at Hilltop include Callie Larson (SPL), Janessa Cetin (SPED), Kayla Schuman (K), Travis Swendseid (3rd), Lucia Drill-Mellum (4th), Shelby Bjerkaas (SPED), Brook Berger (PE).
Shirley Hills Primary School
There are two new faces at Shirley Hills this year. Kelly Forsberg will join the second-grade team. Forsberg and her family moved to the area recently and came to Shirley Hills for a tour. A few weeks after that tour she applied for the second-grade opening. It's as if the stars were all aligned, according to Principal Scott Eidsness. Forsberg has several years’ experience teaching second-grade and she is already proving to be a tremendous addition. It's fun when teachers are also parents so they can continually provide great insight into the family experience.
Katie Davis brings years of experience and training to the technology specialist position at Shirley Hills. Davis is an excellent candidate who has already stepped in and made this position her own. Davis is a technology leader and has been training students and teachers for several years around technologies and programs devoted to educational application. Shirley Hills is excited to add her to the staff, said Eidsness.
New teachers at Shirley Hills include Kelley Forsberg (2nd), Kathryn Davis (Tech Ed), Andrew Anderson (SPED) and Callie Larson (SPL).
Grandview Middle School
Maddie Bishop is a graduate of U-WI Eau Clair and is teaching fifth-grade SPED. She is in her second year of teaching. Ryan Rank is teaching sixth-grade earth science and social studies. He is a graduate of Augustana with his masters’ from the University of Sioux Falls. He has been teaching in South Dakota since 2009. Joanna Martin joins the sixth-grade language arts team. She is a graduate of the College of St. Benedict and taught three years in the St.Michael-Albertville district. Mikayla Bebeau is a Gustavus graduate and is teaching sixth-grade science and social studies. She is also an Americorps volunteer Promise Fellow working on school connections.
Grandview teachers include Joanna Martin (6th LA), Madeline Bishop (SPED), Ryan Rank (6th Science/SS), Mikayla Bebeau (6th Science/SS) and Courtney Stensland (SPL B-5).
Mound Westonka High School
MWHS teachers include Eric Doerhoefer (Business) and Diane Striker (Math/Business).
Greg Sullivan is teaching social studies. He is originally from New York and earned his bachelor’s degree from Colgate University and his master’s from Pace University. He taught social studies in New York for two years before teaching in Minnesota last year. He is looking forward to learning from phenomenal educators and impacting amazing students at MWHS.
Lizzie Williams graduated from MWHS in 2014 and is excited to be back teaching U.S. history and psychology. She attended the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University. Before coming to MWHS, she taught sixth-grade Minnesota Studies in Minneapolis at Twin Cities International School and was a paraprofessional at Grandview Middle School.
Zachary Nauert is the new health/physical education teacher as well as the head strength and conditioning coordinator. He attended the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology. He earned a master’s in teaching in physical education and health from North Park University. He has been both a private sports performance coach and a high school strength and conditioning coach. He just completed a year-long student teacher program at Chute Middle School in Evanston, IL. Nauert is really excited to be a part of a community and school culture that brings so much joy and passion toward success for their students and staff!
Vanessa Hoff joins the art department as a K-12 licensed and certified visual arts teacher. She has over 15 years of teaching experience in public, private, parochial, and community settings across the country, with degrees from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the U of M – Twin Cities. She is comfortable teaching a variety of media, including painting, drawing, printmaking, bookbinding, textiles, collage and photography. She incorporates a significant amount of art history into her lessons and offers in-depth instruction on the elements and principles of design. She is excited to share her creativity and enthusiasm for the arts with the greater MWHS community,
MWHS also welcomes Jana Paré to the art department. With degrees from Washburn University, Topeka, KS, and Minnesota State University, Mankato, Paré has 11 years of teaching high school visual arts in the areas of ceramics, drawing, painting, printmaking, photography and STEAM in Eastern Carver County. She also taught elementary art and served as an adjunct instructor of visual art pedagogy at Augsburg University. She is in the awesome position of being able to show students why she is zealous about the arts and support them in understanding why it is important to their lives and learning across the curriculum.
English teacher Joe Lawrence earned his bachelor’s degree in theatre from Baldwin-Wallace University and his master’s in English education from the University of Minnesota. He worked as an AEA (Actor’s Equity) theatre professional in New York City and Boston area. For the past 15 years he taught at Lakeville South High School and Delano High School, teaching literature and composition, public speaking and theatre. He has also directed many high school and community theatre productions over the past 15 years. He is excited to work in Westonka because it is such a thriving, vibrant, supportive district, and is supportive of the arts and equity in education for all.
Eric Doerhoefer is excited to start his teaching career in the business department at MWHS. He studied at the University of Missouri and Bethel University. His professional experience includes three years as assistant manager at Sherwin Williams. He is looking forward to meeting everyone.
MWHS welcomes Diane Striker as a math/business teacher. With an elementary education degree from Bethel University, Striker went back to school and got her license for secondary mathematics. She has been a teacher for nine years, most recently at Twin Cities International Schools, where she taught sixth-grade math. She looks forward to building strong relationships with Westonka students and sharing a passion for math and business.
Margaret Van Essen is a special education teacher at MWHS. She earned her undergrad degree in Cultural Anthropology from the University of MN - Twin Cities and earned her teaching credential in special education at Sacramento State University. She taught special education in Sacramento and most recently in White Bear Lake. She is a creative thinker who has a background in musical theater and vocal performance as well. Van Essen and her family recently moved to the area and her children are attending Shirley Hills. She’s thrilled to be part of a close knit community!
Alyson Feltmann will begin her teaching career in the special education department at MWHS. She attended Mankato State University and recently had a blast teaching extended school year services at Mound. She is looking forward to supporting the students even further and having a fantastic year!
Callie Larson is a speech-language pathologist who will split her time between MWHS and the two primary schools. She completed her undergrad degree at UW-Eau Claire and graduated from MSU-Mankato with her master’s degree. This is her first full time position as an SLP, but she is very excited to meet everyone and make an impact on the students she works with!
Turnar Kist is entering his third year as a special education teacher after teaching in Owatonna the past two years. He completed his undergraduate degree in history and history education at the University of Mary followed by his master’s in the Special Education Strategist Program at the same school. He is currently working on his doctorate at Minnesota State Moorhead.
MWHS teachers include, back row: Alyson Feltman (SPED), Margaret Van Essen (SPED), Turnar Kist (SPED), Greg Sullivan (Social Studies), Joe Lawrence (LA) and Elizabeth Williams (Social Studies). Front row: Zachary Nauert (Health/PE), Vanessa Hoff (Art), Jana Pare’ (Art) and Callie Larson (SLP).