Two teachers are joining the staff at Hills-Beaver Creek elementary and secondary staff as classes begin Tuesday.
Cloey Anderson and Dylan Gehrke replace agricultural and fifth-grade instructors, who left for different positions.
Anderson grew up in Gaylord and graduated from Sibley East High School in 2016. She will teach ninth- through 12th-grade ag classes and assume the FFA chapter adviser duties.
She attended South Dakota State University in Brookings, majoring in agricultural education. She graduated in May, after a teaching experience at West Central School District in Hartford, South Dakota, and a semester in New Ulm.
“I was able to get in-person and virtual experiences while student teaching,” Anderson said.
She recently moved to Luverne with her new puppy, Maisie.
This is her first year as a full-time teacher.
“I am very much looking forward to working with students and with the community, and getting started with my first year,” Anderson said.
Gehrke is returning to his home school district in his first full-time teaching position as a fifth-grade instructor. He will also be the district’s head volleyball coach and assistant boys’ basketball coach.
Gehrke graduated from H-BC High School in 2014.
“I am really looking forward to getting to know my learners,” he said.
“I can’t wait to see them grow throughout the school year in their academics and also as individuals. I am hoping that the relationships that are built throughout this year will last a lifetime.”
Gehrke attended Dakota State University in Madison, South Dakota, graduating in December 2019 with a degree in elementary education and a minor in K-12 educational technology.
He was a long-term substitute teacher at Harrisburg South Middle School for a month before substitute teaching for Brandon Valley and H-BC.
He currently lives in Sioux Falls but is planning to move to the Hills-Beaver Creek area in the next year.
“A bunch of my family still lives in Hills, both my parents (Heidi and Harvey) and sister (Megan),” he said.
“Most of my aunts, uncles and cousins live close to Hills. I will actually have a cousin in my fifth-grade class for the next couple of years — should be really exciting.”