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New teachers prepare for next week schoo openings

Lead Summary
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By
Mavis Fodness

Nineteen new teachers will be greeting students in the Star Herald coverage area when the 2017-18 school year gets underway Sept. 5.
Luverne welcomed nine new instructors, with Ellsworth welcoming two, and Adrian five teachers and one new administrator (see separate story) during this week’s in-service meetings.
Hills-Beaver Creek Public Schools has three new teachers. (See separate story.)
 
Five teachers join Luverne elementary school
One face not so new to the Luverne school district is Aberdeen, South Dakota, native Tiffany Veal, who returns as the K-5 special education instructor. She was hired earlier this year.
Veal graduated in December from Northern State College in Aberdeen, South Dakota, with degrees in elementary and special education with a minor in reading instruction.
“This school year I am most looking forward to seeing the students again,” she said.
Veal makes her home in Sioux Falls.
Husband-wife team Travis and Susan Bullerman join the elementary staff as fifth-grade and K-3 special education teachers respectively.
In addition to fifth grade, Travis Bullerman also works with the middle school football program.
Since graduating from Adrian High School in 1998 and Augustana College, Sioux Falls, in 2008, the Adrian native has taught in Worthington one year and eight years at West Lyon Community School near Inwood.
He and his wife, Susan, have three children. They make their home in Luverne.
Susan Bullerman (nee Nelson) is a 1997 graduate of LHS, having grown up in Magnolia.
She received her bachelor’s degree from Augustana College in 2001 and a master’s from Southwest Minnesota State University, Marshall, in 2010.
She taught in Freeman Elementary one year and 13 years at West Lyon Community School.
“I am excited to be back in Luverne,” she said. “It feels good to be ‘home.’”
Dana Wolf teaches third grade after serving as a substitute teacher at area schools since her graduation from Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall in 2015.
“I am excited to have my own classroom,” said the Westbrook native and 2012 high school graduate.
Wolf lives near Adrian with her husband, Phil.
Alicia Reker will teach first grade for Luverne after working with kindergartners at Harvey Dunn Elementary in Sioux Falls for the past three years.
The Sioux Falls native graduated from Dakota State University, Madison, South Dakota, in 2014, and recently earned a master’s degree in elementary reading and literacy from Walden University.
She lives in Worthington with her husband, Corey.
 
Four join Luverne’s middle/high school staff
Brian Snyders will teach sixth grade Minnesota history and assist with the middle school football program when school opens next week.
The Salem, South Dakota, native received an undergraduate degree from Southwest Minnesota State University, Marshall, and a master’s degree from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion.
He taught social studies for the past nine years in the South Dakota schools of Hartford, Aberdeen, Marion and Harrisburg. Most recently Snyders taught at the McCrossan Boys Ranch High School.
He and his wife, Cassie, a paraprofessional at the middle-high school, live in Luverne. The couple has three boys: Brenden, 9, Cameron, 4, and Aiden, 2. They are also expecting to add to their family in January.
Luverne native and 1997 LHS graduate Jason Berghorst will teach seventh-grade American history and high school geography. He will also coach the mock trial team.
“I am looking forward to sharing my passion for learning, and especially American history with middle-schoolers in the same classroom where I found a passion for history 25 years ago,” Berghorst said.
He received his bachelor’s degree in 2002 from Southwest State University, adding a master’s degree in 2010.
Berghorst taught in Big Lake for a year before spending 12 years in Adrian.
He makes his home in Luverne.
Joseph Stearns also makes his home in Luverne, having graduated from LHS in 2004.
Stearns also graduated from South Dakota State University, Brookings, in 2008 and earned a master’s degree in 2012. He previously taught in Edgerton and most recently was a substitute teacher for area schools.
He will teach seventh-grade English and eleventh-grade speech/American literature.
Becky Redetzke will teach high school chemistry and physics.
The Gillette, Wyoming, native earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of South Dakota, Vermillion, in 1994, returning in 2014 for a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction.
Redetzke previously worked as a medical researcher until accepting a teaching position in Salem, South Dakota, in 2014.
She most recently taught chemistry at Washington High School in Sioux Falls, where she lives with her husband, Charles.
The couple has two children: Thomas, a sophomore at Roosevelt High School, and Ruth, a sixth-grader at Memorial Middle School.
 
Ellsworth district welcomes two new instructors
Lauren Stanton said she is looking forward to getting to know her students and “finally getting to do what I love.”
The Round Lake native will teach fifth- and sixth-grade social studies and language arts. She graduated from Northwestern College, Orange City, Iowa, this spring. Her student teaching took place in Sheldon and Harris-Lake Park schools in Iowa.
She makes her home in Ellsworth.
Jessica Wanner will be elementary special education instructor for her second year of teaching. She previously taught first grade at Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City.
Wanner currently lives in Sioux Falls. The Willmar native graduated from Minnesota State University ­ Moorhead in December.
 
Five new teachers join Adrian Public Schools
Jordan Pater returns to his hometown as its school counselor. He is also the cross country coach for the district.
Pater graduated from AHS in 2010, Mount Marty College, Yankton, South Dakota, in 2014, and University of South Dakota in 2016.
He taught in Freeman, South Dakota, for one year before serving as its K-12 counselor for the past 1 1/2 years.
Pater and his wife, Jordyn Hudelson, make their home in Luverne.
Kelsey Diekmann instructs Title 1 for grades 3 through 5, English Language Learners and sixth-grade language arts in her first year as a teacher.
She graduated from Fulda High School in 2013 and from Southwest Minnesota State University, Marshall, this spring.
Diekmann and her husband, Jake, live in Lismore.
“You never stop learning and I am excited to continue to learn at Adrian Public Schools,” she said.
Brookings, South Dakota, native Amy Glammeier will instruct special education at Adrian High School.
For the past five years, she has taught special education in the Brandon Valley School District.
After graduating from Brookings High School in 1998, she graduated from the University of Phoenix in 2010.
She and her husband, Daniel, live in Sioux Falls with their three children, Daniel Jr., Lola and Tyler.
“I am looking forward to getting to know my peers and students,” she said. “I want to make a difference in the lives of my kids.”
Vanessa Vander Wal takes over the band program for grades 5-12, including the marching, jazz and pep bands.
The Volga, South Dakota, native graduated from South Dakota State University, Brookings, in 2010 and has taught in Hamlin, South Dakota, Lebanon, Indiana, and was a substitute teacher in Iowa and Minnesota.
She and her husband, Austin, make their home in Adrian with their son Brantley.
New Port, Minnesota, native Sean Kallevig will teach grades 6-12 social studies and work with the football and baseball programs.
Kallevig graduated from Southwest Minnesota State University in 2016. He previously student-taught in Adrian and was a long-term special education substitute.
He and his wife, Kayla, live in Edgerton.
Three new teachers start at H-BC
 
By Glenda McGaffee
Three new teachers will be working in classrooms when the school doors open for students in the Hills-Beaver Creek School District for the 2017-18 school year.
Stephanie Bass will teach fourth-grade reading and science. She will also be the assistant volleyball coach.
She lives in Hills with her husband, Colton Bass.
She graduated from Granada-Huntley-East Chain in 2010 and from Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education.
She has a fifth- through eighth-grade math endorsement.
Bass previously taught sixth grade in Pipestone for two years and fourth and fifth grades in Tiger Reserve (advanced program) at Harrisburg Elementary.
Macy Ellingson will teach Little Pates Academy and Title I.
She lives in Luverne with her husband, Caleb Ellingson.
She graduated from Luverne High School in 2010 and from Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall in 2014 with a degree in early childhood and elementary education.
Her previous teaching experience was at Sunny Days Preschool in Worthington for two years.
Meghan Zylstra will be teaching second grade.  She will be the head volleyball coach at H-BC.
She lives in Beaver Creek with her husband, Chris Zylstra. She is a graduate of H-BC and has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Sioux Falls. She is working toward a graduate degree from the University of Sioux Falls in educational leadership.
Her previous teaching experience was at Edgerton Christian Elementary School in Edgerton where she taught kindergarten.

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