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New Mt. Pleasant teachers share about themselves
A handful of new teachers share about teaching, life, and themselves
MT. PLEASANT — Last week Mt. Pleasant Community School District introduced 38 new teachers to the district as they prepared for the school year. Now, a few of those teachers introduce themselves to the community.
Mary Yoder — Middle School Science
After graduating from Coe College in May, Mary Yoder embarks on her first teaching placement as the seventh and eighth grade science teacher at Mt. Pleasant Middle School this year.
Growing up in Sturgeon, Missouri, Yoder says the way her middle and high school science teachers created fun and engaging lessons inspire her classroom philosophies.
She also found inspiration through the random acts of kindness she witnessed from student during student teaching.
Going into this school year, Yoder hopes to maintain a routine of waking early, going to the gym, meditating, eating a healthy breakfast, drinking a big cup of coffee, and cuddling with her long-haired cat Snow White to prepare herself to teach each day.
“I want to make every student in my classroom feel valued and respected,” Yoder said.
Yoder plans to accomplish this by greeting her students by name and asking them about their day any time she gets a chance.
“I’ve learned that can sometimes be enough to make a person realize someone appreciates them being there,” she said.
These positive communication exchanges will spill over into the way that Yoder interacts with parents.
“I hope to contact parents frequently with positive comments on top of ‘negative’ reports about their students, if my busy schedule allows it,” Yoder said.
While Yoder plans to teach her students all the things they need to know about middle school science, she also wishes they knew that they don’t have to be perfect all the time.
“Although perfection should be strived for in some areas, we will make mistakes and that is OK as long as we have been trying our best,” she said. “This is something I wish my young, perfectionist self would have learned earlier. I was always so scared of messing up that the fear often paralyzed me.”
In addition to a passion for teaching, Yoder also loves the outdoors.
“I spent this last summer break at a wilderness field station in the Boundary Waters of Minnesota,” Yoder said. “That is my favorite place to be in the summer. But otherwise, I am a huge outdoorsy person so I would love any summer spent mostly outdoors with lots of hiking and reading.”
In fact, according to Yoder, her dream vacation would be a camping trip to any national park, “preferably one with mountains and lots of pines, though.”
When she isn’t outdoors and digital apps draw her attention, Yoder most frequently uses Pinterest and Duolingo.
“Pinterest is good for a distraction. I am trying to learn Spanish on Duolingo,” she said.
Sasha Steele — High School Counselor
Sasha Steele comes to Mt. Pleasant with nine years of experience as a school counselor, an undergraduate degree in early childhood education from Upper Iowa University, and a Master of Science in School Counseling from the University of Mary in North Dakota.
Steele, her husband Derek, and their newborn son relocated to be closer to family from Southeast North Dakota where she worked as a school counselor in a rural K-12 setting with approximately 250 students.
“Fun fact, we moved about 100 different varieties of Hosta from our previous home in North Dakota,” Steele shared. “They are currently potted at my mom's house ready for their new home in what will be the most beautiful flower beds (in my opinion of course!). It's going to be a great year and I am looking forward to getting to know the staff and students!”
“I love problem solving and planning with students to ensure they have what they need to be successful in the classroom, their lives, and their futures,” Steele said.
As she does this, she follows the following nuggets of advice: if it's not OK, it's not the end, strive to find balance, and as Mr. Rogers taught her "look for the helpers."
“In my work, I encourage students to find their motto, mantra or quote to live by as it often relates to their passion,” she said.
For Steele, the best part about working with students is helping them find ways to pursue their future goals.
“I'm here to help all students, and hope parents/guardians are willing to reach out when needed,” she said.
When Steele isn’t helping students find their way through school and life, she spends a lot of time in the garden with those Hosta plants that accompanied her family to Iowa.
Recently, however, more of her time outside of school is spent with her first born.
“Derek and I welcomed our first child a little earlier than expected and spent the summer at the University hospital in the NICU,” she said. “He is home and doing fabulously now. I look forward to instilling a love for nature in him as he grows.”
Chris Kramer — Industrial Tech
Chris Kramer, a Salem native, returns to the Mt. Pleasant area to teach Industrial Tech at Mt. Pleasant High School after spending time teaching the subject at Muscatine Community College.
Kramer’s wife Aubrey is also from the area and grew up in Mt. Pleasant and began working in the Mt. Pleasant Community School District as a para professional at Salem this school year.
The two will raise their four children Caroline, 8, Ezekiel (Zeke), 6, Eleanor, 4, and Isaac, 3, in the same area they knew as children.
As Kramer begins his work as the new industrial tech teacher, he says he will focus primarily on welding instruction but also will teach woods and machining in his new role.
“I love teaching students who want to work with their hands,” Kramer said. “I graduated from Mt. Pleasant and am excited to be back here as a teacher now.”
For Kramer, taking classes like industrial tech which gave hands-on experience are what kept him school and made it possible for him to complete his degree.
Kramer studied at Southeastern Community College, received his certificate as a welding inspector from the American Welding Society, and obtained his certificate as a welding educator from the American Welding Society.
Caitlin Thomas — Sixth Grade English
Caitlin Thomas enters her position as the sixth grade English Language Arts instructor with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education with a reading endorsement and a Master’s in Curriculum and Instructional Technology from Iowa State.
This new position comes with the opportunity to return to Southeast Iowa.
Thomas grew up in Danville and returns to the area after living in Des Moines for nine years. She comes back to the area with her husband Stephen, stepson, Malachi, 8, daughter, Lydia, 11 months, and two dogs.
Thomas believes the most important part of being a middle school educator is fostering a love for reading and writing along with building positive relationships with students. She plans to build these positive relationships through engaging learning that incorporates collaboration and conversation.
Although Thomas states that she cannot cook well, she does think she makes a “pretty good” boxed mac and cheese.
Thankfully, Thomas commonly enjoys eating delicious meals prepared by her husband as she typically spends her Saturday nights with her family.
Caitlin believes that technology will continue to improve students' learning as long as it is used in appropriate ways and can foster a love for learning from students. She is currently baffled by the use of AI and ChatGPT and continues to research how it can be used for good in the classroom environment.
Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com
