New teachers begin school year with quest to instill valuable learning and life lessons to their students

By Ginna Young

As a new school year begins, new faces abound in the Cadott, Cornell and Lake Holcombe school districts, and not just in students. Joining the teaching staff from all walks of life, are educators determined to make a difference in the lives of youth.

Cadott

Amber Hladilek No questionnaire was returned.

Ashley Blaeser - Chemistry A Cumberland native, Ashley Blaeser formerly taught physical science at Stanley-Boyd, before joining Cadott as a chemistry teacher. Blaeser received her degree from Viterbo University in 2010, and loves all sports, showing cattle, operating the family’s beef ranch, boating, fishing, swimming, snow and water skiing, and gardening.

She and her husband, Josh, have a six year old son.

As part of the classroom, Blaeser plans to implement reality-based learning that is applicable to everyday life.

Allison Boos - Family Engagement Coordinator Starting at Cadott in 202021, as an administrative assistant, Allison Boos has now transitioned into a new position as the family engagement coordinator.

Boos is married to her husband, Lucas, and the two have two sons who attend Cadott Elementary School.

“Our family enjoys camping, and we are kept busy with our kids extracurricular activities and sports schedules,” said Boos.

Her position is new to the district, with her goal to help foster an environment where the school, families and community work together, to help ensure the growth and success of students.

“I look forward to working with our administrative staff on how to best serve our district and its families,” said Boos.

Nicole Cook Serving to create and maintain positive relationships with students, staff and families, Nicole Cook will work and collaborate in a professional learning community (PLC). Cook is originally from Savage, Minn., graduating from Prior Lake High School in 2014.

She went on to receive a bachelor’s of science from UW-Eau Claire, then spent time as a first-grade teacher and fifth-grade dual language teacher.

Cook married her husband, Alex, in 2022, and enjoys playing Kubb, gardening, cooking, reading, walking, yoga and crafting with her cricut.

“I was influenced by many teachers growing up, that helped me find a love for learning,” she said. “I also wanted to instill that same love of learning in others and spreading a reminder that learning is fun.”

Cook plans to build a strong classroom community that is filled with laughter, question asking, guidance and silliness.

“Students need to feel safe, loved and heard, before they can learn,” she said.

Evie Doncavage - Second Grade From Bloomington, Minn., Evie Doncavage attended Kennedy High School, before graduating from UW-Eau Claire in 2022, with a degree in elementary and special education. Her position at Cadott, will be as a secondgrade teacher. In her spare time, Doncavage helps with Altoona’s Show Choir and likes spending time outdoors, hiking and exploring state parks, along with reading. She loves state parks so much, that her dog, Tettegouche, is named after a Minnesota park.

At a very early age, Doncavage knew the teaching path was the right one for her and wants to create a caring, supportive community, to foster a love of learning and reading.

“In kindergarten, I had a teacher that made the classroom a place where I felt safe and where I knew I could achieve great things,” said Doncavage. “Since that experience, I have wanted to be part of creating that same feeling for others.”

Katie Gebauer - Speech-Language Pathologist Speech-language pathologist Katie Gebauer grew up in Medord, before attending UW-Eau Claire, for a bachelor’s in science. She also earned a master’s of science in communication disorders from UW-Stevens Point.

Gebauer and her husband, Seth, are parents to a son, Conrad, a sophomore, and a daughter, Evyn, who is in sixth grade. She likes to boat, ski, snow shoe, travel, scrapbook, and spend time with family and friends.

Starting her 17th year in the school system, Gebauer knows that children learn best when having fun and believes in a play-based therapy approach.

“I always wanted to be in a profession where I could help people,” she said.

Jonathan Hanson - Sixth Grade No questionnaire was returned.

Megan Henning - Early Childhood Special Ed Since graduating from UW-Eau Claire in 2022, Megan Henning joined Cadott as an early childhood special education teacher.

She loves spending time with family and friends, whenever given a chance, as well as traveling, reading and crafting. Before teaching full-time, Henning used to make and sell, beaded and polymer clay earrings.

Henning lives with her fiancé, Cody, and while the two don’t have any pets or children yet, they do have a lot of houseplants.

In high school, Henning volunteered within the special education program, and has siblings and family with learning disabilities.

“This sparked my desire to help ALL students reach their full potential and access education at high levels,” she said. “I have always had a passion for helping others and felt a huge pull toward this profession while in college.”

Her first priority is to build connections with all students, to create an environment where students feel safe and enjoy coming to school/the classroom.

“I truly believe learning can’t take place until a strong foundation is built,” said Henning. “There are also so many different ways to present content and I love figuring out what works best for each of my students, to reach their goals.”

Maija Hunt - Elementary Counselor Before working as a school counselor, Floodwood, Minn., native Maija Hunt was a high school girls basketball coach and she also coached volleyball at the junior high level for several years.

Her school counseling career started as an intern at local elementary and middle schools, and transitioned to three years, as the school counselor at an elementary school.

Hunt attended UW-Eau Claire, for a bachelor’s of science in psychology and kinesiology, and Liberty University, for a master’s of education: school counseling. In her spare time, Hunt enjoys playing in volleyball tournaments around the Eau Claire/Twin Cities area, planning trips, staying active and spending time with family.

She and her husband, Daniel, welcomed their two new twins in June – Lenni and Lina.

“They are three months old, and we have been enjoying our summer figuring out parenthood,” said Hunt. “We also have a golden retriever and cat that are not the babies anymore.”

As a counselor, Hunt’s responsibilities are to help all students feel successful and grow academically, through social emotional development. She knows that challenges will come to all students and her job is to help them see that they are capable of working through those challenges.

“The coaching world is full of developing character and working through obstacles, to become a better version of yourself and a better teammate,” said Hunt. “After working in that field for a while, I realized I loved helping people see the value and importance that any role has on a team. Counseling is the exact same thing, students who feel their own value, find motivation in the classroom.”

Adam Kaszubowski - High School Mathematics A Stanley native and UWEau Claire graduate, Adam Kaszubowski has served as a teacher at Saint Paul’s Catholic School, Black River Falls High School, long-term substitute at Chippewa Valley High School and Prairie Farm Middle School, and substitute teacher at the Thorp, Eau Claire, Chippewa Falls and Menomonie school districts.

He attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison for a bachelor’s of science in agriculture, economics and horticulture, as well as UW-Eau Claire, for a bachelor’s of science in mathematics education. Electives he enjoyed were crop production, history and mathematics courses.

Drawing on all his experience and extensive education, Kaszubowski comes to Cadott as a high school math teacher. Outside of school, he likes fixing the house, ice fishing and watching sports, especially Packers, Badgers and Twins games.

He and his wife have two adult daughters, and a small dog, and live in Altoona.

Chelsea Marcoe - Junior High English No questionnaire was returned.

Heather Matherne - K-12th Reading Specialist Previously, Heather Matherne served as a second- grade teacher, but is transitioning to a reading specialist and literacy coach. The Augusta native received her bachelor’s degree, as well as a master’s from UWLa Crosse.

Matherne enjoys yoga, reading, traveling and refinishing furniture. Along with spouse, Tobie, the couple shares threes sons and a golden doodle.

When she was a child, Matherne held “class” for her toddler brothers and assistant taught at her elementary school when she was a high school student. With some influential teachers in her own background, Matherne wants to meet students where they are and provide them with what they need, to motivate them to believe in themselves.

“I like to think they inspired my decision, as well,” said Matherne.

Maygen Palecek - Fifth Grade One-on-One Coming from Chippewa Falls, where she grew up, Maygen Palecek graduated from UW-Madison, for health promotion and health equity.

After working as a special education paraprofessional at Mondovi, Palecek likes reading, playing with her dog, Stella, and watching her favorite TV shows.

“I have always loved working with children in a variety of different settings and haven’t found my favorite way, until last year,” she said, adding she fell in love with special education.

Erin Pilgrim - Business Education With five children in the Cadott School District, Chippewa Falls native Erin Pilgrim is invested in education in the community. She graduated from Brown University and enjoys sports, outdoor activities, hunting, fishing and camping, with her yellow lab.

“I recently started hiking the Ice Age Trail in Wisconsin, and hope to complete it someday,” said Pilgrim.

Brad Rogers - Elementary Principal Heading into his 27th year of education, Ladysmith High School graduate Brad Rogers is ready to lead the younger students along their educational path. Rogers is no stranger to the Cadott School District, as he previously spent 16 years there, as a sixth-grade and fourthgrade teacher.

Since then, Rogers spent 10 years, as elementary principal at Lincoln Elementary in the Alma Center-Humbird-Merrillan School District. He was an undergraduate at UW-La Crosse, for elementary education, with a master’s degree, and a principal’s licensure from Viterbo University.

He and his wife of 22 years, Sarah, also a new teacher at Cadott, have six children and one granddaughter.

“I’ve always had a passion for helping people,” said Rogers. “My high school social studies teacher, Forrest Larson, demonstrated to me that learning could be exciting, especially social studies. I’ve had so many people in my life that believed in me and wanted to have that same influence on others.”

In Rogers’ previous school, they were the first Model Professional Learning Community in Wisconsin, as an elementary school. In order to earn that award, a school needs to prove there are systems set up that lead to high levels of learning and close achievement gaps.

“We doubled the amount of students reading at grade level in six years, and almost that same amount in math,” he said. “We are starting that journey this year, here at Cadott Elementary. We are deeply embedding the ‘why’ of education.”

In his time as a educator, a lot of “whats” have come and gone, but Rogers says if staff believes that ALL students can learn at high levels, then they can make sure to transfer that message to students and that has a tremendous impact on student achievement.

“From there, we need to make sure our systems are set up to guarantee that ALL students have access to each part of our system,” said Rogers.

Sarah Rogers - Third Grade For her first 11.5 years as a teacher, Sarah Rogers worked in special education at Cadott Elementary, before teaching first and second grades.

“I was so fortunate to learn from so many fantastic educators, who served this district over the years,” she said, and despite moving on to other districts, Rogers is back at her “home” school. “Now, I am so excited to be back in our district and this incredible community.”

The Thorp graduate finished with a bachelor’s degree from UW-Eau Claire, with a comprehensive major in elementary education and special education-learning disabilities. She then earned her master’s degree, also from UW-Eau Claire, in special education-emotional/behavior disorders.

Her family loves to spend time outdoors and Rogers enjoys hiking, hunting, fishing, playing yard games, gardening, exploring, canoeing, kayaking, golfing and berry picking, as well as sewing, making jewelry and helping others.

Joined by her husband, Brad, who serves as the Cadott Elementary School principal, they have six adult children, a son-in-law, two daughters-in-law and are loving their new role as grandparents, with their first granddaughter born in June.

“Growing up, many of my teachers were a positive and stable presence, during some very challenging times,” said Rogers. “They were genuine and kind people, who were incredibly supportive. In addition, my family has always valued education and this helped to instill a deep respect for learning at a young age. These factors all inspired me to try to serve others in the same way.”

Getting to know her students as individuals is an important step for Rogers, in helping them develop a love for learning. By finding out their interests, strengths and challenges, she feels she can help create experiences that are motivating and exciting for them.

“It is likewise vital to grow a classroom community where students feel safe to take risks and make mistakes,” said Rogers. “This helps them become more resilient problem solvers and lifelong learners.”

Megan Sedivy - First Grade No questionnaire was returned.

Zackary Sirny - Junior High Physical Ed A Wild Rose native, Zackary Sirny comes to Cadott to help others, as he loves sports and was the first WIAA State wrestling champion at his former high school. He went on to wrestle at UW-Eau Claire.

When not in the classroom, Sirny likes hunting, fishing, staying active and being the best dad he can be, with his wife, McKenzie, their son, Rhett, and dog, Traeger.

“I plan on creating positive rapport with each and every one of my students,” he said. “When students believe that you care about them, their interests and who they are, they become intrinsically motivated to learn more. I plan on earning the respect of my students, making class interactive and fun.”

Greg Sonnentag - Assistant Principal Spending 10 years with the Cornell School District as a physical education teacher – nine of those as an athletic director – Cadott graduate Greg Sonnentag was ready to come home.

“My primary role will be to oversee the behavior systems and attendance at Cadott Elementary,” he said.

Graduating from Cadott High School in 2007, Sonnentag was an undergraduate in physical education at UW-Eau Claire, finishing with a master’s in educational leadership: principalship from UW-Superior.

Ideally, Sonnentag would spend quality time hunting and fishing with family, but loves playing cards, as well, and indulging in sports. He and his wife, Jen, are raising their children, Briar, Gable and Reeve, along with their dog, Eiley, a golden doodle/walker house mix.

“My passion for sports and my great experience under current physical education teacher Scott Christensen, motivated me to go to school to be a PE teacher,” said Sonnentag. “My administration in Cornell, motivated me to pursue my administrative license.”

Josh Spaeth - District Administrator Josh Spaeth has been with Cadott a long time, first as a student, then as a teacher, dean of students and head wrestling coach, and now, as the new superintendent of schools.

Because of his dedication, experience, business background and knowledge of the district, the board of education knew he was the perfect hire for the open position.

Avery Spilde - Seventh-Eighth Long-term Sub In her first year of teaching, Avery Spilde is excited to long-term sub at Cadott, in a special education classroom. The Stoughton native went on to earn a degree from UW-Eau Claire.

Wrestling is a huge part of Spilde’s life, after managing her high school team and doing the same at college, and she’s happy to cheer on programs. She also enjoys reading, being outside and hiking with her fiancé, with bonfires in the summer and fall.

A career in teaching was decided during first grade, but the focus of what branch of education, shifted over the years.

Spilde knows it can be frustrating to learn about something that you feel to be unimportant, or that you don’t understand or like, so if there is any way to help a student through that, she wants to do it.

“I love people, and have always wanted to help and teach others in any way I could,” she said. “I was always ready to help out with the other kids, inside and outside the classroom, and may have gotten in trouble a few times, for talking when I wasn’t supposed to be.”

Nathan Steinmetz - High School Principal Nathan Steinmetz is well familiar with the areas, after teaching at Stanley-Boyd for eight years, then serving as a director of online learning, before moving to Ladysmith, as principal in the elementary and high school. The Osceloa native also coached middle school football, middle school boys and girls basketball, and JV baseball, as well as being involved in the drama club, set designing and building.

Steinmetz started at Century College in White Bear Lake, where he received his certification in computer networking and programming, then attended UW-River Falls for elementary education, with a minor in broadfield science, and obtained his master’s in principalship and director of instruction from Silver Lake College.

Outside of school, Steinmetz loves spending time with family and friends, and doing anything outdoors, woodworking and visiting all 30 MLB stadiums. He and his wife live just outside of Cadott, with their two kids and pets.

Steinmetz comes from a long line of educators, which influenced his decision to enter that field.

“My goal at the Cadott Junior/Senior High, is to make sure that all students succeed to their greatest potential,” he said. “This may mean something different to each student, but my goal is to find that something.”

Dennis Tolle - Special Education As a special education teacher, Dennis Tolle, originally from Patch Grove, credits his high school teachers and university professors with inspiring his desire to become a teacher. Tolle received a degree from UWEau Claire in 1987, and is married to an English teacher. Together, they have two sons and two dogs.

Tolle also enjoys travel, gardening, spending time with family and friends, and learning new things.

By integrating the use of technology into his subject area, Tolle is interested in fostering the mastery of class content.

Heather Wojtczak - High School English Having lived in Cadott longer than the town she grew up in, Heather Wojtczak is a familiar figure in the school district, especially since her husband works at the local golf course and both their sons graduated from Cadott. Over the years, she’s served as a paraprofessional, and taught fifth grade and sixth.

She’s also lent her talents to various productions, by playing violin. Wojtczak also likes reading, playing golf, fishing, crafting and board games.

“I would love to be on Jeopardy someday,” she said In her goal of working to better the community and serve students of all age levels, Wojtczak wants to teach them skills they need to be successful adults, no matter what career path they go down.

“As an English language teacher, I especially hope to enrich students’ critical thinking and communication skills,” she said.

Cornell

Craig Braaten - High School Principal Originally from Rib Lake, Craig Braaten has been with the Cornell School District a long time, serving as an athletic director and football coach, after attending Mount Senario College in 2003, for a bachelor’s degree. He later earned a master’s of science from UW-Superior, along with a superintendency in education.

“My partner, Nichole, was my biggest influence in becoming a teacher and administrator,” said Braaten.

When not spending time with his family, Braaten likes to fish and golf. He also self-taught himself to play the guitar, and loves woodworking and learning new skills in technical areas.

“We are focused on providing our students with experiences within our walls, that will connect them with the industry in our area,” said Braaten. “Our goal is to prepare them for real world experiences, by exposing them to tools and jobs that they did not know existed.”

Amanda Gudis - High School Physical Ed/Health After serving as a paraprofessional and JV volleyball coach at Lake Holcombe, Cornell graduate Amanda Gudis substituted at her alma mater, then was hired full-time. She graduated from UW-Stevens Point and has two young sons with her husband.

“Growing up in a small town gave me the opportunity to work many community events that involved youth,” she said. “I’ve enjoyed coaching since I first started in high school, which inspired me to continue to teach.”

Gudis has played the piano since she was 10 and holds the school record for girls discus, going to State in 2010. She can also water ski on one ski.

In the classroom, Gudis hopes to implement hands-on activities and learning, with discussions on subjects that students will benefit from the most.

“I dreamed to be like my favorite PE/health teacher, Mrs. Joan Farmer, and I am so happy to finally have this opportunity,” said Gudis.

Taylor Hand - 4K/Early Elementary Originally from Neillsville, Taylor Hand received a degree from UW-Eau Claire in 2021, then was an assistant teacher and kindergarten teacher at Greenwood.

“I tutored in a headstart classroom my senior year of high school and loved it,” she said. “I knew I wanted to work in early childhood.”

Hand wants to use a lot of play-based learning in her classroom, to help students in a way that makes sense to them. Although, she’s a 4K teacher, history is a big part of who Hand is.

“My family was one of the original settlers that came over on the Mayflower,” she said.

Maricel Namacpacan - English Language Arts It’s a long way from the Philippines to Cornell, but regardless, Maricel Namacpacan made the trek to become the new English teacher. Prior to that, she was a secondary school teacher, reading program coordinator and assistant trainer in campus journalism.

A graduate of Lourdes Ledesma del Prado Memorial National High School in 2001, Namacpacan attended Negros Oriental State University, for a bachelor’s in secondary education, as well as attending Foundation University, Dumaguete City, Philippines, for a master’s of arts.

In her spare time, Namacpacan loves reading novels and cooking, as well as playing board games. Although she came to the United States alone – for now – Namacpacan is married and has two young children.

“We usually spent time together on the beach playing ballgames and watching movies together at home,” said Namacpacan.

Namacpacan’s first-grade teacher inspired her to become an educator.

“She told me that I have a great potential to become a teacher, because I loved to help my classmates read, write and lead them in any activities that we had in school,” said Namacpacan. “All throughout my elementary and middle school, I was usually the leader, little teacher of my classmates. I love kids and that made me choose to become a teacher.”

Namacpacan wants to focus on collaboration, engaging, interactive teaching strategies and positive learning environments, where students should not feel isolated or excluded. She wants them to feel safe and secure, learn at their own pace and adapt to the needs of 21st century skills.

“I believe that education is the most important treasure that nobody could take from us, that is why I really value it and I want to empower my students to really love education,” she said.

Zach Person - Physical Ed He first was at Cornell as a wrestler on the co-oped Gilman team, but now that he graduated from UW-Eau Claire and has some experience under his belt at Medford, Zach Person is back to lead the wrestling team at Cornell and serve as physical education teacher.

When not in school, Person likes to bow hunt and even worked at a deer farm near his home growing up.

In the classroom, Person is going to have a wide range of activities and units to help expand students’ options, making them healthy, mentally and physically.

“I had many great role models that were teachers and coaches that influenced me to want to do the same thing,” he said.

Nick Peters – Band Prior to his time as a music instructor at Pepin and Cadott, Nick Peters served his country in the Marine Corps, after graduating from Rib Lake High School in 1999. He also was a correctional officer, 911 dispatcher, and volunteer firefighter and EMT.

Then, Peters received his bachelor’s of music education from UW-Whitewater in 2013, and a master’s of science in educational administration in 2021.

“I perform a lot of music outside of school,” he said. “I also spend a lot of time working on hobby cars and home improvement.”

That joins his love of science fiction and fantasy, and playing lead guitar in a rock band.

For the school year, Peters’ biggest goal is to steer the music department to public performance.

“School music programs are uniquely positioned to serve the community, by providing music for various functions and it had been sorely lacking here for the last few years,” said Peters. “I plan on getting the performing groups back out in public and performing for the community.”

Allana Theesen - 4K Paraprofessional Growing up in Jim Falls, Allana Theesen didn’t wander far from her hometown and is now a 4K paraprofessional at Cornell. She likes spending time with her husband and kids, camping, gardening, canning and crafting.

Thesen is a firm believer that a love of learning is contagious and she can’t wait to encourage young students through a fun year of learning.

“After 10 years of being a stay-at-home mom to our three kids, I was presented with the opportunity to work in the 4K classroom,” said Thesen. “I am beyond thrilled to have such a wonderful opportunity to cheer on students as they grow, learn and experience Cornell Elementary for the first time.”

Lili Vehrs - Psychologist A Marshfield graduate, Lili Vehrs attended UW-La Crosse, for a B.S. in psychology, as well as Ball State University, for a master’s in school psychology and education specialist degree. Following that, she worked at Grissom Elementary, Alexandria Community School Corp. and TRC Head Start Muncie, as part of practicum/ internship/general course requirements.

Vehrs loves any type of creative outlet, such as crocheting, which she learned from her mother-in-law. She also loves to read and bake, and visit her mom for craft days with her.

Married to her husband for a year and a half, the two have been together for nearly 10 years, ever since high school. They have a cat named Edison, who they adopted while they lived in Indiana, and would love to adopt a dog sometime soon.

“I’ve always been involved in education through my mom, who is currently a paraprofessional and was previously a preschool teacher,” said Vehrs. “It’s always been an area that interested me, but I knew that I was not meant to be a teacher. For a while I wanted to be a therapist, but still found myself drawn to the world of education. From then on, I knew that school psychology was a perfect blend of education and psychology for me.”

Once Vehrs moved back to Wisconsin, from Indiana, she is making sure to support the mental health of her students. Vehrs wants to set up various small social-emotional learning groups, to help the students who struggle at Cornell.

“I firmly believe that learning begins with building those fundamental SEL skills and supports, so I am looking forward to supporting and fostering the development of these skills,” she said.

Kat Wescott - Administrative Assistant Kat Wescott moved to the district in 2019, where she worked at after-school as the program coordinator. Her job involved writing a grant for the summer school program, with a push for food and a safe place for students to go to.

Prior to that, she worked at Menomonie, at Service-Master, doing commercial cleaning and in operations at a company making light switches.

With a strong organizational side to her, Wescott has transitioned into the administrative assistant role with relative ease.

Lake Holcombe

Grier Belter - High School Math Coming from St. Paul, Minn., with a bachelor’s degree from Lawrence University, Grier Belter is interested in martial arts, home improvements and gardening, and while he doesn’t have a wife yet, he is taking applications.

As a way to interest students in arithmetic, he’s starting a Dungeons & Dragons Club at school. With a “freakish” amount of flexibility, Belter figured, with from some pushing from his father, that becoming a teacher might be a sign from God.

“My dad is one of my biggest heroes and he’s been a science teacher most of my life,” said Belter.

Korina Colliver - Elementary Intervention Lake Holcombe graduate Korina Colliver is returning to her roots, to serve as a teacher at her alma mater, after attending CVTC and UW-Stout, for early childhood education. Colliver is married, with two children, and enjoys camping.

“I’ve always liked working with children,” she said. “I have had some great teachers to look up to and wanted to be like them.”

Isabelle Francis - Fourth Grade As a fourth-grade teacher, Isabelle Francis brings a new perspective to Lake Holcombe, after graduating from UW-Eau Claire this past spring.

“I want to be the teacher that makes students want to come to school and learn,” she said.

Francis has an identical twin sister, a cat named Beans and enjoys reading, music, singing, crafts, science and being outdoors.

“I want to support all students and teach them they can accomplish their goals,” she said.

Lauren Ische - Band In her first year teaching, Lauren Ische originally majored in physics, but realized she couldn’t live without music. After graduating from UW-Eau Claire, with a bachelor’s of music, Ische plans to incorporate and involve the interests of the kids into each day’s class.

Since she can play many songs by ear – and dice an onion really well – Ische wants to have an impact on students and give them a voice in what they learn.

“Over the years, I’ve grown to understand how important music and education, in general, is, in developing kids into being kind, well-rounded, successful and empathetic people in the world we live in.”

Nicole Kuc Elementary - Special Education A familiar fixture at Lake Holcombe, Nicole Kuc has served in many capacities within the district, and she and her husband have four children, who attend the school. The Clear Lake graduate has a bachelor’s of arts from UW-Stout and enjoys her time with family at the lake, hunting deer, bear and turkey.

“I grew up in a school, my mom worked in the office, so it was second nature,” said Kuc. “I always wanted to teach, and help children grow and learn.”

Phaedra McDougall - First Grade New to the district is Phaedra McDougall, who previously taught at Flambeau, after graduating from E.C. North, and with a bachelor’s of science from UW-Eau Claire.

She enjoys being out in nature, reading, playing games and watching movies. Mc-Dougall and her husband have a son, and multiple pets.

McDougall always wanted to work with youth and while in college for pre-med, tutored area youth.

“This experience is what turned me toward teaching,” said McDougall.

With a “feelings first and academics second” attitude, McDougall wants her students to feel safe and loved.

“I love empowering the minds of our youth and watching them grow throughout the year.”