ELLEN MORTENSEN

Classes begin at Callaway Public School on Thursday, Aug. 18, and four new teachers will be joining the district. Along with the new faces in the CPS classrooms, Callaway Elementary is also welcoming a new principal - Mrs. Brittany Jesseph. Meanwhile, one teacher is making the transition from elementary to teaching high school English.

We will meet the new Elementary Principal next week. This week we would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to the four new teachers and the transitioning teacher, by sharing their answers to the following five questions we asked of each of them: 1) Where did you grow up and attend school/college? 2) When did you know that you wanted to go into education, and were there any specific factors that helped determine that decision?

3) What grades/classes have you taught in your career, and where?

4) What are you most looking forward to in joining the team at Callaway Public Schools?

5) If you are comfortable doing so, please talk a little about your family: spouse, children, grandchildren, pets, etc.

Charmayne Popp - Family Consumer Science I grew up south of Broken Bow and graduated from Broken Bow High School in 2016. I then went to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where I graduated with my undergrad in 2020. I am currently obtaining my Masters in Family Consumer Science Education through UNL.

I struggled to learn and school did not come easy to me. Finding ways to teach to different learning styles has always been interesting to me and I want to be able to encourage those students to whom school doesn’t come easy. Just because school doesn’t come easy doesn’t mean learning should stop. I have also been pushed by past educators and 4-H judges to pursue something in education.

This will be my first year teaching and having my own

cont. PAGE 6 - New Teachers classroom. However, I had the opportunity to substitute teach in Ansley, Broken Bow and Callaway.

I am most looking forward to the people I am working with. The current teachers have all been supportive, encouraging and willing to give advice. I also am looking forward to getting to know the community of Callaway. Everywhere I have gone I have felt welcomed.

Kaylee Brogan - 3rd Grade I grew up in Plains, Kansas. I graduated high school at Southwestern Heights and went on to college at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas.

I love teaching, and have always wanted to be a teacher. Being the oldest in my family, I made my younger sibling play school when we were growing up. I had some awesome teachers and coaches growing up and I really looked up to them. Assisting with summer school and my education classes at Benedictine further solidified my passion for education.

I have taught 4th grade and high school English in the Southwestern Heights school districts Kismet, Kansas, as well as 2nd grade, 4th grade, and PE at St Charles Borromeo Catholic School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

I got to sub a little at the school last year and everyone was kind and helpful. They seem to work together well. It will be great to be part of the team.

I am married to Bartley Brogan who is a USDA commodities grader and we have three kids: Wyatt kindergarten, Hadley - preK 4 and Maggie 17 months. We moved to Callaway in the summer of 2020 from Oklahoma City. We are so glad to be back in a small town!

Crysta Anderson - 2nd Grade My name is Crysta Anderson and I am the new 2nd grade teacher. I grew up in North Platte and went on to get my bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in K-6 Elementary education along with K-6 Special Education.

I moved back home in 2020 and began teaching K-5 special education for my childhood elementary school with North Platte Public School District. I got married this summer to my husband Ely. We are excited to start our life together in Callaway with our new home and puppy, Willow.

Hannah Beck - English I grew up between Broken Bow and Sumner Nebraska and graduated high school from Broken Bow Public Schools. I attended and graduated college from Chadron State College in Chadron.

I have always liked helping and watching people learn. I made the decision to go into teaching in high school. I think the main reason for pursuing this career path was because of my personal love of learning and wanting to be able to help others find their own love of knowledge.

I have taught second grade at Callaway Public Schools for the last two years. So while I am not new to the Callaway school system I am new on the high school side.

I really enjoy Callaway Public Schools as a work environment. I am so excited to see the kids that I will be coaching in class so I can get to know them on a different level.

My husband, Tristen, and I live in Broken Bow with our two dogs Pez and Zeke. Most of our extended family is also in the Custer County area. Tristen farms with his dad, uncle, and brother. Out at the farm we have cattle and I have a horse who also gets to live at the farm. We also have sheep, they currently live out at my parents ranch. I grew up raising sheep and enjoy raising club lambs now.

Sara Reish - 6th Grade I attended Bayard Public Schools from kindergarten to 12th grade, and then went to college at Chadron State College for four years.

I knew that I wanted to be a teacher from a young age; I honestly don't think I ever deeply considered any other profession! Both of my parents are teachers, so I grew up seeing the world of education at school as well as at home. I also had amazing teachers throughout elementary school who shaped my life, and they inspired me to impact the lives of others.

This is my first full-time teaching position. I taught part-time at a private elementary school in Chadron for a year during college, and I had the opportunity to student teach at Tongue River Elementary in Dayton, Wyoming last semester.

The community of Callaway has already welcomed me with open arms, and I felt at home almost immediately after meeting the staff at the school. I can't wait to be part of a team that focuses on building relationships with the students as well as their families and the rest of the community!

My parents and siblings all live in Bayard. Both of my parents are teachers at Bayard Public Schools; my dad, Elliot, teaches 7-12 Special Education and my mom, Shawna, teaches Preschool. My younger brother, Trevor, is attending college at WNCC in Scottsbluff and my younger sister, Jordyn, will be a junior in high school this year. I don't have any pets here in Callaway, but we have a chunky yellow lab named Lzzy in Bayard!