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Four MHS, other area grads return here to teach
McCOOK, Neb. -- The crop of first-year teachers starting their teaching careers at the McCook School District include four hometown grads and two more graduating from nearby communities.
All teachers new to the McCook School district will be paired with a mentor who is teaching at the same school, said Kate Repass, McCook School District curriculum director and Central Elementary principal. Mentors help new teachers with big and little things, from where to get supplies for the classroom or how to handle a student situation.
Those beginning their first year as a teacher at McCook include:
Tara (Powell) Peterman,a 2009 MHS grad and a 2015 University of Nebraska-Kearney graduate, will be stepping into the shoes of her former art teacher, Steve Clapp, at the high school this year. Rubbing shoulders with high school teachers she used to know as a student still feels a little strange to her, Powell said, admitting, "I still can't call them by their first name." Jobs for art teachers are hard to come by so this was a great opportunity, Powell said, excited to be back in McCook. "Teaching where I grew up is awesome, it's neat to see younger siblings of the kids I went to school with," she said. For her, high school students are far more easier than younger kids to teach, she said, by not needing as much supervision. The former MHS track standout and state track champion will help coach sophomore girls basketball and volleyball, but she's not resting on her laurels. "I've already had kids come up to me and say, are you Spencer Powell's sister?" she laughed, referring to her younger brother who graduated last year and was a star athlete himself.
Zach Wieser, also a 2009 MHS grad, graduated from UNK in 2014 and will teach seventh grade math at the junior high. Wiser said he understands that math can be a challenge for some kids and has a soft spot for the struggling student. "I'll try to find something they understand or enjoy doing, and use that for a math problem," he said. Although some may shudder teaching at the junior high, Wieser said he likes that age group. "They're still willing to listen and are still finding their way," he said. Teaching is a huge responsibility, Wieser believes, because "a lot of kids are who they are today and where they are today, because of a teacher who pushed them and believed in them." Wiser said he and his wife, Taylor, originally of Culbertson, Nebraska, and a registered nurse at Community Hospital, wanted to move back to McCook so they could be closer to family. A well-known three-sport athlete at MHS, he will also help coach this year.
A 2006 MHS grad and recent UNK graduate, Stephanie Storrs said the experience she had while peer mentoring drove her decision to become a teacher. "It was such a positive experience and I enjoyed the environment," she remembered. Storrs, a kindergarden teacher at McCook Elementary, said teachers were always her role models while growing up, citing her fifth grade teacher, Dee Friehe, now retired, as making school fun. She student taught last year at McCook Elementary, so being the kindergarten teacher there this year is a good fit, Storrs said. Although excited about her first year of teaching and having her own classroom, she's keeping things in perspective. "I already have the mindset of a first year teacher, I know it's going to be trial and error on some days," she acknowledged. Storrs and her husband, Michael, of Indianola, have two daughters, Addyson, 4, and Hannah, 1.
Matt Berry graduated from MHS in 2009 and graduated from UNK in 2014. As the second grade teacher at McCook Elementary, he now gets to sit in the teacher's lounge with some of the teachers he had growing up. "It's kinda cool, I get to know them as a person and build a different relationship with them now," he said. The connections and friendships he made with his teachers while in school solidified his career choice. "I always wanted to do teaching and a lot of my teachers made it sound like a good occupation," he said. In addition to teaching, the former football and track standout will be coaching high school football and seventh grade basketball. Moving back to McCook after college was always the plan, he said. "I'm a big family person and really enjoy McCook. When the opportunity for this job came up, I jumped on it." As a newbie teacher, he's grateful for the support he'll get from other teachers. "I'm new at everything here and won't know all the answers, but I know I can go to any teacher and they will help me out."
The new fourth grade teacher at Central Elementary, Brooke Teel, graduated from Southwest High School in Bartley, Nebraska, in 2010 and from UNK in 2014. Teel knows how a little extra attention from a teacher can make a difference. "In fifth grade, my teacher took time with me and I got my first 100 in math, my hardest class. That was a huge deal for me." She wants to parlay that into her own classroom and give extra attention to students when needed. "You can tell if one of your students is having a bad day, acting out, not talking as much." For her, teaching is a privilege that she doesn't take it lightly and intends to make the most of it. "I'll be with these kids nine months a year, five days a week, eight hours a day. That's a lot of responsibility." Fourth grade is a perfect grade to teach, she said, as the kids are mature enough to know the basic rules of school and still respect authority, but still have enough kid in them to make it fun. She loves being back in Southwest Nebraska as Teel prefers small towns. "Everyone knows everybody, so you're familiar with the students, their parents, the other teachers." She and her husband, Kyle, an accountant at the Cambridge Hospital, live in Indianola, Nebraska, with their daughter, Henleigh, 16 months and are expecting a new baby in January.
Catlin (Cat) Rice grew up on a farm in Wilsonville, Nebraska, and intends to take the work ethic he learned on the farm into the classroom. A 2010 graduate from Cambridge, Nebraska, and a 2014 graduate of Peru State College, he'll teach fifth grade writing at Central Elementary. Rice said he's easy going and likes to kid around, but also realizes there is a time and place for everything. "It's like on the farm, we would joke around and have fun, but when it was time to work, you made sure your stuff got done." Rice said he always knew he wanted to help people and he chose teaching because of the friendship that grew between him and the principal at Cambridge Elementary School, Don Sackett, now retired. Now good friends, their relationship began when Rice was an elementary student and sent more than once to the principal's office. "I wasn't bad, just ornery," he conceded. Those experiences will now come in handy as a teacher, he said, as "I know all the tricks of the trade, kids won't be able to get away with anything."
Chelsea Henery graduated from high school in Pierce, Nebraska, in 2010 and from Doane College in 2015. As the chemistry, anatomy/physiology and health careers teacher at the high school, she's looking forward to sharing her passion of science with her students. Coming from a small town herself, McCook is just the right size, Henery believes. "I don't like having to spend 30 minutes just to get to Walmart," she said of larger cities. "It's easy to get to places here and I feel safe." She's known she wanted to be a teacher since the first grade. "I always loved being in school and learning," she said. Henery wants to convey her excitement about science with as many hands-on activities as possible. "I like to think outside the box," she said.
The new eighth grade science teacher at the junior high, Jeremy Reimers, graduated from high school in Dalton, Nebraska, in 2011 and from Doane College in 2015. Reimers never liked science until his junior year in high school, when a science teacher made it fun, he said. It was a toss-up between teaching junior high or high school kids for Reimers, until he finally settled on the pre-teen group. "It's a weird time for kids," Reimers said, "but I'm not good with little kids." Excited but nervous, any first-year jitters have been eased by the welcome he's received by other teachers. "It's been great, three or four of them have already come up and said if I needed anything, to let them know. That's pretty nice."
