Meet the new teachers in Charles City

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

Some brand new faces as well as some old faces in new places will be greeting students in the Charles City School District next week, with classes starting Monday at the high school and middle school and Wednesday at the elementary schools.

Surveys were distributed to new faculty and staff, and here are the responses of the newest members of the CCSD family, in their own words.

Abby Palsic, age 29, business education teacher.
Education – Business Teaching and Marketing degrees from UNI.
Hometown – Stacyville.
Family – Husband, mother, brother, sister, brother-in-law and two nieces.
Favorite thing about teaching? – Getting to share my love of business with my students and showing them a new perspective on the world that they live in.
Why Charles City? – My husband and I chose to come to Charles City to be closer to our family and friends and get back to our Iowa roots.
First-year goals – My goals are to get to know all of the new and exciting things that are happening in the area and to expand on the success of the Comet Shop.

Alecia Feckers, age 32, 6th and 8th grade reading.
Education – BA in Early Childhood Education with Special Education and Reading, Masters in Reading and ESL, Upper Iowa.
Hometown – Greene.
Family – Husband- Kory, “Kids”- Jake & Ruby (dogs), Oreo (cat), Milly (guinea pig).
Favorite thing about teaching? – Impacting lives and strengthening minds.
Why Charles City? – The welcoming atmosphere and community involvement.
First-year goals – Create connections with students, co-workers, and members of the community

Alesha Dean, age 24, 5th & 6th grade writing teacher.
Education – BA from the University of Northern Iowa.
Hometown – Manson.
Family – I am married to my husband, Kyle and we have a black Lab named Mila.
Favorite thing about teaching? – Building relationships with students and being able to see them grow and learn academically and personally.
Why Charles City? – I chose to be a part of the Charles City family simply because it actually feels like family. Charles City has a welcoming community and made me feel like I belong here. I wanted to teach in a district that I felt supported and welcomed me, and here I feel just that.
First-year goals – My goals are to build positive relationships with my students and to step outside of my comfort zone with my teaching. I want to try new things and implement more ideas into my classroom to make learning interactive and personable for students.

Bethany Bjorklund, age 35, school nurse.
Education – BSN University of Iowa, pursuing Masters in Public Health at Columbia Southern University.
Hometown – Mason City.
Family – Husband Bryan is a teacher and football coach for CC, Briella age 5 at Washington, Blake age 2, and beagle Bruce.
Favorite thing about teaching? – Taking care of the students and staff so they can be healthy and ready to learn.
Why Charles City? – New opportunity to help an innovative community to improve our health services.
First-year goals – Get to know the students, staff, and help continue to build the health services for CC Schools.

Bryan Bjorklund, age 34, teacher, CCHS, U.S. history and computer science; CCMS, computer science; head football coach CCHS.
Education – Waldorf University – BA History, Minor Business; University of Northern Iowa – MA History; Buena Vista University – Secondary Education.
Hometown – Armstrong.
Family – Wife – Bethany, Daughter – Briella, Son – Blake.
Favorite thing about teaching? – Sharing my passion for learning through my teaching, seeing students find classroom content and experiences worthwhile to their lives now and in the future.
Why Charles City? – The district believed in me, specifically in what myself and family could bring to help the district improve.
First-year goals – Get to know and positively impact as many of our students as possible.

Carly Marten, age 29, 8th grade language arts.
Education – Bachelor’s of Arts in English Education from Iowa State University; Master’s in Education Administration from University of Northern Iowa.
Hometown – State Center.
Family – Husband Evan, son Emmitt, dogs Millie and Bailey, and cat Oscar.
Favorite thing about teaching? – Spending every day with the most hilarious people on the planet — middle schoolers!
Why Charles City? – Our family wanted a welcoming community in which to raise our son, and we wanted to work for a district that values equity, family and learning at high levels.
First-year goals – To balance being a new mom with being a teacher and to grow through writing with my students.

Dana Sullivan, age 37, associate middle school principal.
Education – BA Degree in Accounting from UNI; Teaching Endorsement from Buena Vista University; Master of Arts in Education – Principalship from UNI.
Hometown – Fairbank, Iowa.
Family – Brynlee (daughter) – 4th grade at Lincoln Elementary; Sawyer (son) – 2nd grade at Washington Elementary.
Favorite thing about teaching? – I enjoy the possibilities that I have with students to be innovative and passionate about things they love. Every year I learn something new from them and feel privileged to have been their teacher.
Why Charles City? – Throughout my years of teaching here, I have always been pushed to be the best version of myself. I have been given opportunities with the construction of the baseball and softball diamonds, helping create The Comet Shop with students, and being a part of the coaching staff for the softball team. Charles City has always encouraged and supported my personal and professional goals. I have had amazing mentors, co-workers and friends with the district and have always felt a part of the family.
First-year goals – My first year is all about learning! I am excited to connect with a wide array of students and work alongside the middle school staff. I am hoping that my experiences in the classroom will help me build credibility with the teachers and allow me to bring some of my own leadership traits to others.

Elizabeth VonHagen, age 29, grade 7-8 math resource.
Education – Elementary Education K-6/ Instructional Strategist I K-8.
Hometown – Rockford.
Family – Family of three — my husband, 2-year-old son, and myself.
Favorite thing about teaching? – Making a lasting impact on students and their success in school.
Why Charles City? – Charles City provides opportunity for growth professionally!
First-year goals – Learning the new 7-8th math curriculum and helping students grow.

Heather Phillips, age 37, associate high school principal.
Education – B.A. in Elementary/Middle Level Education from UNI; Master’s in Educational Leadership from Viterbo.
Hometown – Vinton.
Family – Husband Dustin, daughter Calla, son Rayce.
Favorite thing about teaching? – Watching students learn and gain confidence, building relationships with students and staff, and always being in the business of LEARNING!
Why Charles City? – The Charles City mission and vision spoke to me! I knew Charles City would be a place where I could grow personally and professionally, build relationships and raise my family.
First-year goals – In my first year at Charles City High School, my biggest goal is to build relationships with staff, students and families.

Kailey Eskildsen, age 23, first grade teacher.
Education – University of Northern Iowa with my bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education with a minor in Literacy.
Hometown – Northwood.
Family – My parents are James and Stephanie Eskildsen and I have two younger siblings.
Favorite thing about teaching? – My favorite moments in teaching are the moments where things click and you see the “lightbulb” go off and you know the students have a grasp on what is being taught.
Why Charles City? – Upon arriving at the school for my interview, I could already feel the sense of family and welcome.
First-year goals – Since this is my first year being a teacher, my first and major goal is to create a fun, caring space for my students to learn. Along with this I hope to gain confidence in running my own classroom and develop a system for my style of teaching.

Laurie Smith, age 28, high school counselor.
Education – I received my Child, Adult, and Family Services degree from Iowa State University and my Masters degree in School Counseling from the University of Northern Iowa.
Hometown – Urbandale.
Family – I have an amazing mother and an amazing father and I am the third child out of four. I have an older sister who is married and has two beautiful daughters – I love being an aunt! I have an older brother who is recently engaged to my future sister-in-law, and I have a younger sister who has a wonderful boyfriend we consider family. I married my husband in August 2020 and we have enjoyed becoming our own little family and making a life together in the last year!
Favorite thing about teaching? – I love helping students find their passion! I strive to empower students to realize they can achieve their dreams after high school and I enjoy seeing them continue on to do great things.
Why Charles City? – My husband and I live in Charles City and I am so excited to finally work and serve in the community I live in.
First-year goals – I hope to make a mark for myself in this community and become someone students will know and trust. I hope that by serving the Charles City student body, I begin to serve the outside community in many positive ways.

Megan LaBarge, age 34, 2nd grade teacher.
Education – Bachelor’s degree- Elementary Education from University of Northern Iowa (2009), Masters degree- Special Education from Morningside College (2017).
Hometown – Waterloo.
Family – Kyle, husband; Landon, son (age 5); Kenley, daughter (age 2).
Favorite thing about teaching? – Building relationships with the kids! I also love teaching math.
Why Charles City? – My values aligned closely with the CC mission and values. My family recently moved from Waterloo and it was the perfect fit.
First-year goals – To learn new things from new colleagues, get comfortable with teaching a new grade, and have fun!

Michelle Dohlman, age 49, grades 3-4 school counselor.
Education – Bachelor of Science from the University of MN and Master in School Counseling from Buena Vista University Hometown – LeRoy, MN.
Family – Three children- Taylor (Greene) graduate of ISU and returning to obtain her Masters in School Counseling, Trystan (Riceville) graduate of NIACC and employed with L.R. Falk as the Ag Lime Division Manager, and Madalyn (Riceville) senior at ISU studying Agriculture Education. She will student teach this spring!
Favorite thing about teaching? – The students!
Why Charles City? – The excitement shared with me by other Charles City school staff! Their energy and positive spirit were captivating!
First-year goals – Learn everyone’s names!!! Work hard for the students, their families and be meaningful and effective. Work with staff to provide ALL our students the best experience and opportunities possible setting them up for a healthy life and success in the future.

Molly Staudt, age 25, high school Spanish.
Education – I have my degree in Spanish Education (K-12), ESL endorsement, as well as a minor in psychology from Buena Vista University.
Hometown – Forest City
Family – I married into the Staudt family. My father-in-law and mother-in-law both grew up in Charles City.
Favorite thing about teaching? – My favorite thing about teaching is in the interaction with students and more specifically seeing the progression of language in a student.
Why Charles City? – My husband and I chose to come back to the area with our 6-month-old son to be closer to family. We have been in Des Moines, and we were really missing the small town family community.
First-year goals – My goal in this first year of teaching in Charles City is to get to know the community and work closely with students to learn about the Spanish language.

Nanette Smith, age 48, principal, Washington Elementary.
Education – BA – elementary education w/ behavior disorder minor from UNI; Masters- educational administration from Willam Woods University (Fulton, MO).
Hometown – Britt.
Family – cat Marshall.
Favorite thing about teaching? – Being able to work with kids every day.
Why Charles City? – The Mission! The supportive leadership team, the hard-working teachers the family atmosphere!
First-year goals – Build relationships with staff, students and families. Continue creating a school where every student and family feels valued and EVERY student learns at high levels.

Samantha Jacobs, age 30, kindergarten teacher.
Education – BA from UNI.
Hometown – Clear Lake.
Family – My husband and I have a 2-year-old son.
Favorite thing about teaching? – I love the feeling that I’m making a difference! .

Tammy Wheeler, high school business.
Education – AS Iowa Lakes Community College, Estherville, IA and BA Northwestern College, Orange City, IA.
Hometown – Little Rock, Iowa.
Family – Dan, husband, 5 children, 5 grandkids.
Favorite thing about teaching? – building relationships with students.
Why Charles City? Everyone seemed to be very supportive — like a family.
First-year goals – to start a CAPS program.

Tom Larsen, age 36, kindergarten-2nd grade special education teacher.
Education – Bachelor of Arts from Buena Vista; Associates of Arts from NIACC.
Hometown – Clear Lake.
Family – My wife’s name is Laura and we have a 2-year-old son Isaac.
Favorite thing about teaching? – I love that “ah ha” moment when a student who has been working to master something feels like they finally got it. I love to see the excitement when they feel a level of achievement and accomplishment.
Why Charles City? – Eight years ago I was a paraprofessional in the Charles City Community School District. It feels great to be back in Charles City where it all started and to be surrounded by family who live in the area.
First-year goals – I really want to get to know the students and the families and build success in my students throughout the school year.