New faces in BVSD classrooms

The Journal continues its introduction of a new class of Brandon Valley educators.

 

ROBERT BENNIS ELEMENTARY

 

Jamee Childress

Jamee Childress is going back to the first grade, but now she’ll be at the head of the class as a teacher at Robert Bennis Elementary.

“My experience as a paraprofessional in the special education room is what led me to go back to college and pursue my degree in elementary education,” she said.

Childress has prior experience in the classroom, most recently, a four-year stint as an elementary (K-6) special education paraprofessional for the West Lyon (Iowa) School District. The Larchwood, Iowa, native earned her interdisciplinary studies degree from Western Governors University in 2017.

“Living only a few short miles away from Brandon,” she said, in addition to an admiration for the community and the school district, is what led her to apply. “They both always strived to be the best.”

Childress, who graduated from West Lyon in 1999, shares that she’s a teacher who “loves hands-on learning and to try new things.”

Education is a way of life for Childress and her husband, Jeremy, who is a junior high math teacher and athletic director at West Lyon, where he also is an assistant football and softball coach. They are parents to four: Randi, 13, Bryson, 11, and twin boys, Kyler and Kacen, 5. The family enjoys taking in sporting activities, as well as horseback riding.

 

Samantha Dirkson

What happens in Vegas, doesn’t always stay in Vegas, which has brought Samantha Dirkson to Robert Bennis Elementary, where she has been assigned to teach K-2 special education.

Dirkson, who graduated in 2012 from Rancho High School in Las Vegas, pursed her elementary and special education degrees at the University of South Dakota, graduating this year. She chose the profession to follow in her parent’s footsteps, as both are special education teachers.

“They sparked my interest in the field,” she said.

After a positive experience student-teaching at BV, Dirkson knew that the BVSD “was everything I wanted,” she said.

In the classroom, Dirkson said she likes to make activities structured, but also fun and flexible. 

“I think students will be surprised by my sense of humor. Hopefully they like a lot of goofiness,” she adds.

She is married to Dalton Dirkson, and enjoys camping, fishing, road trips, reading, watching baseball, and playing with her dog.

 

Emily Lichtscheidl

Emily Lichtscheidl has been “teaching school” for as long as she could talk. Now, she’s going to teach kindergarten at Robert Bennis Elementary, and coach eighth-grade volleyball.

“My love for this profession only grows,” she said. “It’s rewarding for teachers, students, staff and everyone involved.”

The Forest Lake, Minn., native graduated in 2015 from the University of St. Thomas where she majored in elementary education and English. Her prior teaching experience includes two years at a Catholic school in Somerset, Wis., where she also taught kindergarten.

Lichtscheidl said she was drawn to the BVSD after learning about the strengths of the district. “I really connected with BV’s mission statement on student success and power of community involvement,” she said.

Engaged to Nick Sandager, a farmer, she lives in Hills, Minn., which is located in Rock County, the only county in the state without a lake.

“I grew up on the lake,” says Lichtscheidl, who also studied abroad in Tahiti.

In her leisure time, she enjoys reading, arts and crafts, hiking and biking.

 

Heidi McNamara

Heidi McNamara has returned to the school district where her education first started. And she’s going back to elementary school, but this time as an art teacher at Robert Bennis.

“Having gone to school at Brandon, I know what a good foundation students can receive here,” shares McNamara, who graduated from BVHS in 2003.

From here, she went to South Dakota State, graduating in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science degree in history. The last six years she worked as a special education assistant.

McNamara said she has long enjoyed working with kids, and in this capacity, she’s eager to “get in and get my hands dirty right along with them (the students).”

In her spare time, McNamara enjoys camping, hiking, reading and tackling home improvement projects.

 

The series continues next week.