Sauk Prairie School District Retirees, Part II

By Ellen Paul   This is the second installment of articles on teachers and staff who have retired in the Sauk Prairie School District in 2022. At Sauk Prairie Middle School teachers Hans Fester, Kelly Miller, and Angie Schmidt have retired.   Hans Fester has been a physical education teacher at Grand Avenue Elementary and at SPMS as well as a teacher at St. Eugene’s in Fox Point, WI and St. Mary’s in Elm Grove, WI. His hometown is Sheboygan, WI where he graduated from Sheboygan South HS.  He attended college at UW-La Crosse and Carroll College. Fester states that the best part of his job is “getting outdoors to be active” and that the biggest change in his tenure as a teacher is “students with continuous access to the internet.” Memories he will cherish are when “former students approach me in public and have positive things to say.” Words of wisdom he leaves behind for his colleagues still teaching are “We’ll never know the impact we have on kids.” Fester has also been a coach and served in the Wisconsin National Guard. Kelly Miller has been a World Language teacher at SPMS/SPHS for 31 years.  She also taught in the North Crawford School District in Gays Mills, Wisconsin as an English/Spanish teacher.  Her hometown is Muscoda, Wisconsin and she graduated from Riverdale High School. She attended UW- Oshkosh earning a Bachelor of Science in Secondary English Education as well as a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Spanish Education. At Viterbo University, she earned a Master of Arts in Education-General.   “The best part of my job is knowing that I have inspired students to continue their love for the Spanish language and culture at the university level. It is also very humbling to know that there are more than a handful of Sauk Prairie alumni who are now Spanish teachers,” Miller shares. On the flip side, when asked what has been the difficult part of your job, she replied, “The most difficult part of my job as a Spanish teacher is to bring understanding to students and parents on how powerful and important it is in our world today to learn another language.” As far as memories, she answered, “I will miss the amazing world language students who came to class every day pumped up and ready to learn more and waiting for me to bring my “A” game.  I will also miss the camaraderie of many staff members, classified staff members, cooks, janitors, bus drivers, and previous retirees from SPMS and SPHS who were a part of my ‘home away from home.’ I am forever grateful for their friendship. “   “One of the biggest changes in education that I have experienced is technology.  There is an abundance of dynamic tools for an educator, but as educators we all must evaluate how often to use the tools and how often to use real life teachable moments to help best prepare our students to be global citizens.” Departing words of wisdom from Miller are “Plain and simple: “Do what you love!”  “A special thank you to all of the students, staff, parents, and community members who embraced me as a World Language teacher for 31 terrific years in the Sauk Prairie School District.  I will be forever grateful to Ellen Paul and the late Dick Magnuson for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime,” were Miller’s words of gratitude. Angela (Angie) Schmidt, SPMS Mathematics teacher for 24 years in Sauk Prairie, hails from Sun Prairie, WI and graduated from Sun Prairie High School. She also taught ag Boscobel Elementary for seven years. She earned her B.S. from UW-Platteville and her M.S. from Carinal Stritch University. The best part of her job? “Seeing the students grow from elementary students to high schoolers. The SPMS staff is a family who takes care of each other professionally and personally.”  Difficult part of the job? “Act 10 really changed the educational landscape and made it difficult to recognize those of us in public schools. As each year passed, it seemed like more and more was added to teachers’ plates. Once Covid hit, it exacerbated the problem.”  “The advent of social media and students having phones at school, Growth Mindset (particularly in math) and focusing on the understanding of math as problem solving, rather than memorizing procedures, and educating students for jobs that may not even be created yet,” she replied were the biggest changes in education for her. What memories will you cherish about your tenure in education? My interview! In the middle of my interview, we took a pause and went outside to the “island” in front of the middle school to watch the Homecoming Parade. After the parade was over, the interview team and I returned to the MS and finished the interview. The rest is history!    My last years of teaching, I have been able to teach with my brother at Sauk Prairie Middle School. And his room is right around the corner!”   “I can’t imagine a more challenging and rewarding profession than education. I feel fortunate to have spent so many years in Sauk Prairie Schools with colleagues who have challenged, inspired and cared for me,” Schmidt shared as parting thoughts. Joyce Marr, Reading Interventionist at Bridges and Grand Avenue Elementary schools for nine years, also taught for one year in Cuba City, 37 years in Dodgevillle and one year in Platteville. She grew up Brodhead, WI,  earned  a BS in Behavioral Disabilities from UW- Madison, her MS in Elementary Education from UW- Platteville  and her MS in Educational  Leadership from Cardinal Stritch.  “Meeting the new mandates of the RtI process and other DPI initiatives,” she says have been the more difficult parts of her job and the biggest changes she sees in education are, “The students have changed. We have more students with behavior issues.” Memories Marr will cherish are, “The students I have worked with. They are the reason I teach.”   “Each teacher plants a seed in a student. Those seeds sprout and grow and make up the student that graduates from this district. Be sure to plant a good seed!” are Marr’s words of wisdom to her colleagues. “I totally believe that the excellent staff will work wonders with the reading series that is being purchased,” encouraged Marr also. Renee Frey is retiring from Tower Rock in the food service department.  She has served for 26 years in the SPSD serving in several schools in the district including at SPMS. Her principal Kelly Petroski described her as “the bedrock of Tower Rock.” Tammy Diehl, retiring administrative assistant to Bridges principal Jamie Breunig, grew up in Spring Green and graduated from River Valley High School.  Diehl attended UW-Madison in accounting and graduated from Madison Business College with a degree in General Business Management.  Prior to coming to the SPSD she served as the administrative assistant to the Director of Business and Student Services in the Reedsburg School District. The best part of her job is “working with kids, teachers, and administrators. I love the variety of tasks, especially budgeting, purchasing etc.” A challenging aspect of the job has been “the health room, especially during Covid. There are not enough hours in the day!” Memories include “learning so much about families- their struggles and successes and the kindnesses and willingness of co-workers to take time to help teach and to assist when needed.” Wise words from Diehl are “Always try to keep learning and finding better ways to do something.  Be an asset to your team- no task is too small.  Be kind and helpful to everyone.” “I’m grateful for the time I worked in the SPSD.  I was able to use my years of experience and skills to give to the school as well as gain skills and experience from the school,” were her final words of gratitude. Laurie Martin, has been an ESL teacher for the Sauk Prairie School District since 1999, teaching at Black Hawk, Tower Rock, Spruce Street, St. Al’s, and Merrimac Schools, sometimes four in one year. This involved teaching language through reading, writing, math, science, and social studies. Her work as an ESL teacher used to include working as a parent/school/community liaison and interpreter.   Martin’s teaching career began with Spanish in the Green Lake School District, English as a Second Language for Del Monte Bilingual School in Costa Rica, ESL to adults at SER in Milwaukee, and Bilingual Social Studies in the Green Bay School District, before joining Sauk Prairie School District in 1999. Martin earned majors in Spanish, Broad Field Social Studies and Anthropology, and a teaching certification 7-12 from University of Oshkosh after graduating from Oshkosh West High School. Next, she earned a K-12 license in English as a Second Language from UW Milwaukee, a bilingual K-12 certification from UW Whitewater, and lastly, an MS in Brain-Based Teaching and Learning from Nova Southeastern University of Florida. “The best part of my job here was the relationships that I built with the students and their parents when I taught them all six years of primary school. These long-term relationships were the greatest of privileges and the best foundation for students’ growth,” she related. “Learning to use a computer since I’ve arrived has been the most challenging task of all,” Martin said, “The explosion of readily available resources on the internet over the last 30 years is the biggest change I’ve noticed.” The most delightful memories she has are of “children rushing enthusiastically into my office every morning and of children bursting with delight, commenting ‘Now I know why we go to school!’ or ‘I love to learn with you!’ or ‘I get it now! I’m so smart!’” Martin’s words of wisdom? “Doing what we do well and what we love makes us happy. However, I’ve realized that if we don’t set boundaries regarding the sacrifice of our time and energy, health and relationships for our careers, it detracts from that happiness. And we can never return to reclaim them. So, I would be careful about making my career my entire life’s purpose and meaning.” “I am very grateful for the opportunity to work for the SPSD.  However, I look forward to tutoring, traveling and sleeping!” she related. The last installment of articles on the 2022 SPSD retirees will be in the next issue of the Star News.