At Jesup Community School, it's the Small Pieces that make the Big Picture!

Connector Teachers

Specialist Teachers
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Michelle Klein is in her 32nd year of education. She has taught 28 years at the middle school level and most recently spent 8 of her last 12 years in the Jesup Community School District as one of the middle school special education teachers. She is currently in her 4th year as a Connector Teacher. Also, she is the high school girls’ golf coach. Michelle has a Bachelor's degree from Central College University in Pella, Iowa. She and her family live in Jesup where both children have graduated from Jesup High School. In her spare time,  Michelle enjoys playing golf and hiking. She is looking forward to the challenge her position brings with each new year and working with teachers and students district-wide.
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  Kara Backes is in her 15th year of teaching. She taught for twelve years in the 4th grade at Jesup Elementary after serving as elementary/middle school librarian for one year. Kara also taught 3rd grade for two years in Massachusetts. This is her first year as a Connector Teacher. Kara has a Bachelor's degree from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and a Master’s in Education from Lesley University in Massachusetts. She and her family live on an acreage in rural Jesup. She has two sons who both attend school at Jesup and is a Jesup graduate herself. Kara is excited to take on this new role which allows her to work with teachers throughout the district, while still being able to get back into the classroom with the students.
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Ryan Andreassen is in his 7th year of teaching. He spent one year working for the University of Northern Iowa helping pre-service students engage with the Cedar Valley's young people. Transitioning to the classroom, Ryan joined Jesup's staff in 2013 as a Third-grade teacher. He enjoys the challenges and many rewards that go with teaching and learning alongside our district's wonderful students and staff. Ryan earned his BA in Elementary Education with an emphasis in Special Education from UNI and will graduate this May with his Master's degree. Joining the Connector team, he is looking forward to working shoulder-to-shoulder with Jesup’s top-notch teaching and support staff to help to continue to make Jesup Schools the best place for every learner. ​Ryan and his wife, both Jesup alumni, live here in Jesup with their two children who attend Jesup Community School.

Elementary Focus:
​Comprehensive Literacy

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Sara Harrold is in her thirteenth year of teaching.  She has taught 2nd and 5th grades at Fort Madison, Midland, and Jesup Community Schools.  She currently teaches 3rd grade.  Sara received her B.A. in Elementary Education and a Reading Endorsement from Loras College.  In her free time, Sara enjoys spending time with her family, reading, attending and coaching athletics.  She is looking forward to working with different staff members throughout the year and helping to continue to make Jesup Schools great!

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Megan Smith is in her 8th year of teaching at Jesup. She is currently teaching second grade and prior to that taught kindergarten. Megan earned her BA from the University of Northern Iowa with endorsements in literacy and math. In 2016, she earned her MA from Viterbo University. Megan recently moved to Jesup with her husband, Sean, and her daughters Elsie and Emilia. In her spare time, Megan enjoys going on bike rides and walks with her family. She is looking forward to getting more involved with different members of the Jesup staff and finding ways to continue to promote teacher collaboration.
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Lesa Parmely is starting her 31st year of teaching in Jesup, after receiving her BA from Wartburg College.    She recently came back to Title I reading after spending 8 years teaching Kindergarten. She lives in Delhi with her son, Tanner and her daughter Brooke is a Preschool teacher right down the hall at Jesup.  Her son Ryan and his wife farm near Hazleton. Lesa loves helping children become successful readers and writers as well as working with other staff members in the area of literacy.
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Cyndi Nuehring is in her 14th year of teaching.  She has taught Title I/Reading Recovery and 3rd Grade at Central City for eight years and currently is teaching K-3rd at Perry #1.  Cyndi earned her BA for Elementary and Middle School from UNI and a reading endorsement from Drake University. She lives outside of Jesup with her husband, Keith, and 4 children.  Karsten, Carmen, and Kohl all attend Jesup and Kyle will soon. She is excited to be more involved in the TLC program and helping others become more involved also.

Middle School Focus:
​Assessment for Learning & SBG 

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This is year 23 in the classroom for Trela Rottinghaus, her sixth at Jesup. She’s voluntarily taught middle school English for over 20 years (though she loved teaching high school - and Shakespeare - too).  She added Talented and Gifted classes and an Instructional Coach position to the mix about ten years ago just in case middle schoolers ever got boring (they haven’t). She received her BA in English Literature and Secondary Education from Loras College, an MA in Education from Viterbo University, and a Talented and Gifted endorsement from UNI.
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Whitney Ott-Zuzich is in her twelfth year of teaching middle school here at Jesup. She has taught 6th & 7th grade Literacy, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade Social Studies, and 6th grade Language Arts.  Whitney received her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and K-8 Social Studies from the University of Northern Iowa, and received her K-8 Reading Endorsement from Upper Iowa University. Whitney lives in Waterloo with her daughter, but enjoys working in a smaller, close-knit community like Jesup and is hoping to move this way within the next year. She is excited to work with our staff and help build stronger relationships among teachers.

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Bruce Wall is in his 24th year of teaching, 21 years at Jesup. He taught 3rd and 5th grades at his previous school and has taught 4th and 6th through 8th in his years at Jesup. Bruce is currently teaching 6th and 8th grade math. He is currently the Head Baseball Coach at Jesup as well. Bruce received his BA in Elementary Education from Wartburg College and Middle School Endorsement from UNI. Bruce enjoys spending time with family and friends and attending numerous sporting events. 

High School Focus:
Using Assessments to Drive Instruction

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Allyson Kitch  is a first year specialist but is in her eighth year of teaching, all of which have been here at Jesup. She graduated from UNI with a Bachelor's in Business Education and a multi-occupations endorsement. Mrs. Kitch teaches 7 different preps every single day while also helping with homeroom, student council, and high school professional development with a focus on assessments. This year Mrs. Kitch will also be taking on a new adventure with the inception of J-caps. She loves learning about all of the teachers here at Jesup and therefore has made teacher social and emotional health her specialist focus for the school year. To boost her own emotional health, Mrs. Kitch spends time with her cutie-pie son, Connor and her husband, Doug, outside, watching Mickey Mouse, and just giggling together. She is looking forward to helping teachers make the most out of their time at Jesup!   
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Mollie Emerson is currently in her 4th year of teaching here at Jesup! She graduated from Wartburg College in 2016 with her Bachelor's of Music Education degree, and also majored in playing the flute. She teaches all of the band classes (5-12th grade) here at Jesup, and enjoys getting to see her students express themselves in a musical way! In the midst of teaching band lessons, she helps guide the high school student council kids and is a part of the high school homeroom committee. She is excited to help those new to our district this year, as well as model some different and unique student engagement strategies.
When she's not busy at school, she is at home working on homework for her new Master's program! Currently enrolled at UW-Madison, she is pursuing a degree in Educational Psychology. Otherwise, she enjoys playing golf with her boyfriend, Nate, and being the best dog-mom to her 1 year old pup, Ted!

District Wide-Specialist

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Heather Nolting is in year 19 of teaching. She has been at Jesup for 15 years. Some of the classes she's had the pleasure to teach are 6th grade Math, Literacy, Social Studies, and Language Arts, as well as 7th and 8th grade Social Studies and Technology. This year she is currently enjoying 6th and 7th graders in her Social Studies class and 6th grade Technology. She received her teaching degree from Clarke College in Dubuque. Her Masters was earned through Viterbo University in 2009. She has learned much in her role as mentor for the past 3 years. In addition to mentoring, this year she is excited to come back to the role of Specialist, working district-wide on issues with Technology, Writing in the Content Areas, and Classroom management.