Many new names line local school directories

With many new staff members throughout Henry County this school year, Cheryl Putnam and Kalee Hailee shared a little bit about themselves so the communities could get to know them better.

Kalee Haile — Winfield-Mt. Union

After loving her experience of student-teaching in first grade, Kalee Haile is excited to begin her teaching career with her 11-student-first grade class at Winfield-Mt. Union.

Venturing into teaching in a small town is not completely unfamiliar territory for Haile as she grew up in Ollie, which is a small town in the Pekin School District.

“I am passionate about teaching and helping young minds grow and explore new things,” the recent William Penn University graduate said. “The best part of my job is building relationships with my students and seeing them “light up” when they learn something new!”

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As she starts this journey of helping young minds grow and explore, Haile intends to approach the job by doing everything with love and kindness, “because you never know what someone is going through.”

For Haile, “The most important part of my job is making sure that my students are safe while at school and that they are loved!”

Already, Haile says that her students are already very good listeners and overall very good students and she looks forward to many good days of teaching.

“It is a good day when I see my student’s trying their best and working hard,” she said. “Seeing my students smiling and having fun while we are learning makes it a great day!”

When Haile is not teaching first grade, she enjoys spending time with her boyfriend. In the summer they like to visit their 2-year-old nephew in Florida.

“I spend a week in Florida, visiting family and going to the beach. The rest of my summer I am a nanny/office assistant,” Haile shared.

When summer comes to an end, Haile and her boyfriend show gas engines at Old Threshers Reunion.

In her free time, her favorite sport to watch is basketball, she also knows all the lyrics to the old Taylor Swift songs, and she hopes to one day, once again, own a Basset Hound and a Frenchie.

“They are so cute!” she said.

Cheryl Putnam — WACO

Cheryl Putnam, a third grade teacher at WACO Elementary, came to the district with high hopes.

“I chose to continue my career as an elementary teacher at WACO because I have heard nothing but fantastic things about the district from fellow educators who I admire,” she said. “The current atmosphere in the field of education is unfortunately a bit unsettling. I wanted to find a place where the culture was positive and uplifting.”

Putnam comes to this position after working as a student assistant in high school and elementary classrooms.

“I really enjoyed watching the students learn and grow and have so much fun while doing so,” The Danville High School Graduate said. “My sister is 10 years younger than me, so interacting with the children was natural.”

As Putnam begins this year, she says loves to help “little minds develop into caring, loving, lifelong learning individuals. I am honored to be a safe adult for so many young people.”

This particular love for teaching is molded by a philosophy that, “Students will thrive when they are in an environment where they feel safe, comfortable, and cared about. They will not learn from teachers they think do not care about them. Relationships are my number one priority.”

“As the saying goes, ‘Children have to Maslow before they can Bloom,’” Putnam said in reference to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

Putnam intends to cultivate this culture in her classroom through team building, and collaborative, and engaging activities. She also will continue her practice of intentionally using language to express feelings and help peer relationships develop.

“[My class] laughs together, a lot,” she said. “We discuss non-school things throughout the day. We become a big family August-May.”

Putnam is inspired to make the world a more compassionate and loving place and acting as a bright spot for her students throughout the school year despite an “endless list of increasingly growing demands.”

“We do what we can, but we cannot do it all,” she said.

Outside of school, Putnam spends time with her husband of 20 years, Steve, their 13-year-old son Nolan, 10-year-old daughter Parker, and 6-year-old daughter Hazel along with their pets which include three dogs Maddux, Doug, and Grace and a cat named Archie.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com