This is a series of features on the 26 new educators in Fort Scott.

School begins today for the district.

Bethany Anderson, 23, will be teaching English at Fort Scott High School.

She earned her education at Emporia State University and has taught English at Lawrence High School.

Her hometown is Sterling, KS.

“My dad was my high school principal, now is a professor in the teaching department at Sterling College,” she said. “My mom is a school nurse where I did my student teaching.”

Outside of school she works at a coffee shop during the summers in Kansas City. She is in a sand volleyball league on Sunday and Friday nights. “I also really love playing tennis and reading books in my free time. On Wednesday nights I serve at my church for the high school youth program. I love being busy,” she said.

“I absolutely love English and it’s one of my biggest passions, but my first passion is loving kids well and building those relationships. That’s something I learned from my dad who has been in education for about 25 years. He taught me how to invest in kids first and then focus on the subject I teach. I think that has to be my favorite part of teaching, is the relationships I have built with the kids.”

“There are also some major challenges I have faced already in my short time teaching… hardships with administration support and feeling as if the kids weren’t a first priority in some decisions being made. It has also been an eye opener that there is a lot more that goes into teaching that they don’t mention in college or even during student teaching. I am excited to be apart of a smaller district where I already feel valued as an educator.”

Kim Carpenter is an incoming 5th-grade teacher at Eugene Ware Elementary School.

Before returning to college to earn her B.Ed. from Pittsburg State University when her youngest child was in kindergarten, she worked at Winfield Scott Elementary as a paraprofessional and teacher’s aide. Having four children of her own while working in an educational setting made teaching seem like a natural career choice for her. Carpenter earned her M.Ed. ion Curriculum and Instruction from William Woods University in 2014. She taught 14 years as an elementary teacher from Nevada, MO.

Carpenter’s hometown is Fort Scott.

Her daughter Jana and husband Michael and their two sons Randy and Liam call Fort Scott home, as well at her son Jon and wife Rachel and their daughter, Evelyn. Her son Kyle and his wife Anna live in Erie and her daughter Kelsey and her husband Drew reside in Bentonville, AR.

When Carpenter isn’t spending time with her family, she enjoys camping, hiking, mountain biking, and kayaking. Apart from spending time in nature, she loves crafting, researching her family history, and going to flea markets. She is actively involved at her church, Faith Church.

Carpenter can’t say that any one teacher inspired her to become a teacher, but she has been blessed to have been impacted by many top-notch educators. Some of the most memorable include Don Miller, Fred Campbell, Jr., Barbara Albright, Joyce Sinn, Jean and Jack Gilmore, Connie Neil, and Pat Lamb to name a few.

She says the best part of teaching is building relationships with each new group of students who come through her classroom. Her philosophy is “relationships first and everything else will follow.”

Carpenter says there are many challenges educators face today. While there are so many things outside of our control, she says we can focus on the areas where they can have the most impact while still having fun.

This is part of a series featuring the 26 new educators in USD 234. School starts on August 18.

David Heidrik is a new  seventh- grade Special Education teacher at Fort Scott Middle School.

This is his 11th year as an  educator, all of those in special education.

“I spent 8 years at Prairie View as a middle school resource room teacher and I will hold the same position here,” he said.

“I am married with two boys,” he said.  “My wife , Luisa, is from Peru and we met at Pittsburg State University. Our boys are Matt, age 6,  and Jacob, age 3.”

He has a variety of interests outside of school.

“I am into athletics, I practice Jiu Jitsu, I have a garden, and I study ancient history among other hobbies,” he said.

Samantha Short, 53 is a new Fort Scott Middle School Spanish teacher and remedial English teacher.

She graduated from Nevada High School in 1987.Then earned her bachelors, masters and specialist degrees from Pittsburg State University.

She taught Spanish in the Nevada School District for the last 28 years and just retired this year.

Nevada is her hometown since 1975.

She has been married for 31 years and has three children and two grandchildren. Katlyn is a 6th grade teacher in Nevada; Colton, lives in Connecticut and is an engineer for a company; and Hallie will be a senior at Pittsburg State University studying Construction Management.

“I love spending time with my family, working on our cattle farm, and traveling,” she said.

“I became a teacher because I had such a bad 4th-grade experience that I hoped to make sure that other students didn’t have the same bad year that I did. I hoped to make a difference in their lives.”

“The best part of teaching for me is being with the kids and learning all about them,” she said.

“I have found that the biggest challenge is keeping kids engaged in the learning process. They are so overstimulated with everything that they have to entertain them, that class can be boring, so you need to switch topics pretty often to keep their attention.”

This is part of a series featuring the 26 new educators in USD 234. The first day of classes is August 18.

Suzan Durnell, 53, is a new elementary instructional coach who works with teachers and students at both Winfield Scott and Eugene Ware Elementary Schools in Fort Scott.

She holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree from College of the Ozarks, a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from Missouri State University, and a Master’s Degree in Library Science and Information Services from University of Central Missouri.

Durnell taught fifth and sixth grades in Galena, MO, second grade in Aurora, MO, then third, second,  and K-5th library skills (including reading and technology). In her 30 years of teaching she worked as a trainer for the Missouri Reading Initiative providing professional development and instructional coaching.

“I was raised in Vandalia, Missouri, graduated from Greenfield, Missouri, and have raised my own family in El Dorado Springs, Missouri. I claim each of these places as a hometown!”

Her husband, Mike will be teaching high school math at Fort Scott High School. They have been married for 31 years and recently moved to Nevada. They have two grown daughters. Jenna and her husband Quade live in Nixa, Missouri, where she works as a CPA, and Quade works as a Family Nurse Practitioner in Springfield, Missouri. Tessa and her husband, Kip, live in Hays, Kansas, where she works as an autism specialist and Kip teaches and coaches at Hays High School.

“My passion is education,” she said. “I have been fortunate to work in a field I love for all these years. I’m excited to extend my career in Fort Scott.”

“My father (a teacher, coach, principal, then superintendent) inspired my love of school,” she said. “My fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Forgy, made teaching something I aspired to do.”

“The best part of teaching is the joy,” she said. “It might be joy in teaching a fun topic, joy in watching a student grasp a concept, joy in creating a community of learners, joy in play, or joy in working with talented colleagues. There’s always something that reminds me how very important the field of education is every day.”

“For me, it is a challenge to remain knowledgeable about how kids learn best. We’re learning more and more about the developing brain and how best to approach teaching. To make that even more challenging, kids’ brains are changing as they’re exposed to more technology than ever before. I feel responsible to stay on top of the most recent developments, and that’s hard to do.”

Outside of teaching she loves baking, shopping, coffee with friends, walking, and family time.  And she said her family enjoys being involved in their church, Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene.

“Teaching is actually my second career to pursue,” she said.  “I was an adoption specialist after receiving my bachelors in sociology in 2004.  As a mom of school ages kids, I saw firsthand what a difference teachers can make in children’s lives.  My kids had some great teachers who really inspired me to want to be that difference for other students.  I’ve always admired my sister-in-law, Cristin Stark who has been an elementary teacher for years.  I started sharing this new dream with her and she was a huge support during my journey to get here.”

This is part of a series featuring the 26 new Fort Scott educators.

USD 234 students first day is August 18.

Mike Durnell, 54, is a new math teacher at Fort Scott High School.

His hometown is Moundville, MO.

He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in education from College of the Ozarks, a Master’s Degree in education from Missouri State University, and a Specialist’s Degree in Education from William Woods University.

He has taught for 31 years.

Durnell began teaching high school math in LaMonte, Missouri, then taught math in Billings, Missouri and Aurora, Missouri at the middle and high school levels, then junior high math in El Dorado Springs, for many years before serving as the Activities Director. Most recently, he have taught junior high math in Uniontown.

He is married to Suzan and has two grown daughters, Jenna and Tessa. “Suzan will be working in the elementary schools in Fort Scott this coming school year, my daughters are married, working, and making the world a better place,” he said.

Outside of the classroom he enjoys hunting and fishing.

Durnell was influenced to teach by his high school teacher and coach, Randy Robertson, he said.

Students are the best part of teaching for Durnell, although there are some challenges.

“In teaching, we are faced with students being more distracted than ever,” he said. “It is a challenge to keep things interesting for them.”

 

Christie Lutter Smith, 48 is the Speech Language Pathologist for Eugene Ware Elementary, Fort Scott High, St. Mary’s Elementary, Christian Heights and Christian Learning Center all in Fort Scott.

“I am really looking forward to being a part of the Fort Scott School District,” she said.  “I am looking forward to the upcoming school year and can’t wait to work with the kids and their families.”

Smith earned a Bachelor’s in Communication Disorders (Speech Language Pathology), then a Master’s in Early Childhood Special Education, taught school, then earned a Master’s in Communication Disorders.

“I have been a speech therapist for over 20 years and have practiced in a variety of settings: schools, hospitals, and skilled nursing facilities. I love them all and feel blessed to love what I do.”

She and husband Dallas have been married 25 years and have three girls: Meg, 22, is getting married this fall; Ellie,17 will be a senior and “can’t wait for basketball season, and Cate,10a, ttends Saint Mary’s and pretty much loves everyone,” she said.

In her spare time she loves to travel, read,  and has hobbbies of photography, music and art.

 Smith’s other involvements in the community: Catholic High School Youth Leader, past Mercy Hospital Foundation Board member, a nursing home volunteer, Parent Teacher Organization, past board member of Mother to Mother Ministry, Relay for Life, PEO, and Magazine Club.

“I started college as a pre-med student; however, after taking a few classes in speech pathology I fell in love. Probably because I love to talk! As my classes went along I also fell in love with the special education field and became actively involved in the Special Olympics. All these exposures and experiences have aided me throughout my career.”

“Some of the greatest challenges I have faced in my career and continue to face is finding the resources our families need in Southeast Kansas.  It may not be easy to find but there are amazing people and companies out there, a lot of them in our community.”