Mt. Pleasant schools welcome 20 new educators

With school set to start next week, the Mt. Pleasant Community School District welcomed the newest members of the faculty and staff to campus on Monday morning.

The district’s 20 new teachers met administrators and each other at a welcome breakfast in the high school media center to start the day.

The new teachers were given time to get to know each other before formal introductions began.

However, rather than introducing themselves, they were tasked with introducing one of their fellow colleagues and sharing interesting facts about them.

One of the more surprising facts was that new kindergarten through fifth-grade guidance counselor Cody Kite-Warth is a licensed funeral director and embalmer.

Kite-Warth shared a bit of knowledge about how cemeteries are laid out.

“Cemeteries are laid out east to west,” she said, adding that the deceased are buried with their feet facing east.

For Kelsie Maynard, a new fourth-grade teacher at Lincoln Elementary School, this year is a homecoming of sorts.

Maynard started her teaching career teaching second grade at Lincoln Elementary School.

“Welcome home,” Superintendent John Henriksen exclaimed.

Julieta Castillo-Ocampo, a new high school Spanish teacher, originally hails from Mexico.

She has been an educator for 21 years, with the past 11 years in the United States.

An avid soccer fan, Castillo-Ocampo said she is excited to cheer on the Mt. Pleasant soccer team.

Ashley DeMeyer, middle school special education, and Sidney Taylor, middle school social studies, are both first-year, first-time teachers.

They were classmates at Mt. Pleasant High School not long ago, along with Mikhayla Knupp, who is joining the Mt. Pleasant faculty as a seventh- and eighth-grade English teacher.

The 20 teachers who are joining Mt. Pleasant schools this year are:

• Sidney Taylor, social studies, middle school.

• Ashley DeMeyer, special education, middle school.

• Allison Graesing, third grade, Salem Elementary..

• Amanda Beauchamp, special education, Van Allen Elementary.

• Sara Westercamp, kindergarten through fifth grade guidance.

• Cody Kite-Warth, kindergarten through fifth grade guidance.

• Cindy McWhirter, English, high school.

• Nicole Stump, special education, Lincoln Elementary.

• Tyler Kibbee, special education, middle school.

• Christopher Arp, Spanish, high school.

• Julieta Castillo-Ocampo, Spanish, high school.

• Kelsie Davis, fourth grade, Harlan Elementary.

• Michelle McCarthy, second grade, Harlan Elementary.

• Alexandra Morozov, first grade, Harlan Elementary.

• Sara Maher, special education, Lincoln Elementary and Christamore House.

• Mikhayla Knupp, seventh and eighth grade English, middle school.

• Hattie Liechty, sixth through eighth grade school health, middle school.

• Martha Peterson, school social worker.

• Mary Schnicker, music, Harlan Elementary.

• Kelsie Maynard, fourth grade, Lincoln Elementary.