It was a gloomy winter afternoon. I was sitting on the couch watching a rerun of “The Office” while holding my sleeping newborn. I felt my phone vibrate and looked at the number. I immediately recognized it. 

“Uh, oh,” I thought. It was my son’s second-grade teacher, Julia Roegiers. At that point in the school year, we had found ourselves in a bi-weekly cadence of phone calls, offering support to one another as we navigated how to best help a kid who wasn’t too keen on school. 

“Hi, Elyssa, I just wanted to call and tell you what a great day Julian is having,” she said. 

This was not the conversation I was expecting. 

We talked for a few minutes more, and I hung up with a happy heart and sleepy grin. During my now seven years with a school-aged child, it’s the only time a teacher has called—unprompted—to share some good news. 

And that’s why I took the opportunity to nominate and celebrate Julia in this issue’s Featured Teacher. 

Julia still teaches second grade—then at Shuler Elementary, now at Radiant Elementary. She’s also taught at Wallace Elementary in Johnston. She’s been in the classroom for 15 years, taking a break somewhere in between to stay at home with her three children. 

Her teaching style goes beyond fostering excellence in academics. Through daily modeling, redirecting and reinforcing student behavior, she works hard to create an empathetic classroom community. 

“We spend a lot of time discussing how we can be caring in our actions and words,” Julia explained. “My classroom is very structured. However, I love to have fun and laugh with my students. I try to encourage them to be curious in the classroom and give them opportunities to take ownership of their learning. When this happens, it provides us with opportunities to empower students.”  

Julia said she’s always wanted to be the kind of teacher who positively impacts the lives of her students. But in 2006, at just 38 years old, a grim cancer diagnosis made an unimaginable impact on her life. 

“I was diagnosed with Stage IIIC ovarian cancer,” she said. “It was a very scary time as there was a low survival rate.  I will be forever grateful to family and friends who prayed for me, helped with the kids, and supported me along the way.  Now, at age 51 or—as I tell my students—two quarters and a penny, I am grateful for the gift of each day and the opportunity it provides me to make a difference.” 

Julia credits the support of her husband for giving her the ability to continue to do something she loves. “My husband, Jim, and I just celebrated our 26th year of marriage,” she said. “For the past three years, our wedding anniversary has fallen on Waukee’s ‘Back to School Night.’ You know you married the most amazing man when he spends his wedding anniversary helping you in your classroom.”

“He takes on many additional home and kid duties during the school year as well as accepting some of my long school nights and weekend hours,” she added.

When I asked Julia what was most challenging about being a teacher, she said it’s that you’re more than your title. “Teachers do not just teach. We are actors, comedians, encouragers, supporters, healers, huggers, referees and expert shoe-tiers. I think one of the most challenging parts of teaching is that it is a profession in which you can always do more. We carry our students in our hearts and our minds all year.”

When I asked what was most rewarding, her answer was in tune with my random request for an interview and my confession that, “Oh, by the way, we loved you the most.”

“I try to create relationships with students and their parents, so we become a team working together to help each child reach their potential,” she said. “The absolute best is when students connect with you years after you were their teacher.” 

“I had one student from Johnston who reached out to me a few years ago,” she explained. “She had named her daughter Julia because of the impact I had on her life. That still gives me the chills. We never know how our words or actions will impact the young lives we come into contact with. Knowing that you have played a small part in making a difference in a child’s life is the goal and dream of every teacher.”

School is out for the summer, but for teachers, the work never really ends.  While summer may be a time to dial back a bit, it’s also a time to reset, look back over the last school year and prepare for the next.  And next year, Waukee’s Brookview Elementary students can once again look forward to working with this issue’s Featured Teacher, instructional coach Kathy Liston.

Liston was exposed to teaching early, as her mother taught preschool.  “I loved watching her work with students, and the excitement she had when they learned how to do something new was contagious,” she explained.

When she first got to college, Liston took business classes, with the goal of becoming an accountant.  Outside of classes, she became involved working with students at a local church, providing mentorship and support with schoolwork.  According to Liston, that job showed her “the power a teacher can have in a student’s life.” She quickly switched her major to elementary and middle school education.

After earning her teaching degree, Liston taught for three years in the Des Moines Public School District before moving to the relatively new (at the time) Brookview Elementary in the Waukee School District.  She taught second grade for a year at Brookview before transitioning into her current role as an instructional coach, a role she has held for eleven years.

Liston’s role as an instructional coach is to provide support to teachers, support staff and students at Brookview.  “I typically say my job is to walk alongside teachers in whatever capacity they want,” she explained. This, not surprisingly, encompasses a wide range of duties and activities.  Working with new and veteran teachers alike, Liston provides professional development, co-teaches in all grade levels and supports with new curriculums and resources. She also strives to provide “a space for brainstorming and dreaming,” as well as being a sounding board for the staff and students.

Liston has a high regard for the Waukee School District, which she said is an innovative district that focuses on students first.  “Not only are we allowed to focus on developing the whole person in Waukee, but we also strive to provide the best academic environment,” said Liston.

The district’s work around developing leadership skills in all students and staff was instrumental in Brookview Elementary being named the first Lighthouse School in Iowa.  This distinction is awarded by The Leader in Me, an organization that engages students and empowers them to act on their leadership abilities and potential at school and at home.  Brookview was recognized in 2018, and Liston said she has seen firsthand the positive effects of this certification.

Liston enjoys not only the Waukee School District, but her role within it, and said the staff and students are what she enjoys most about her work.  “I could not do this job without the amazing teachers at Brookview, who continue to challenge me in my own understanding of best practices in education.  Every teacher at Brookview and across the Waukee district wants to continue to grow and learn, which makes my job easy,” she explained.

Liston said she also loves working with the students and that her position allows her the opportunity to watch them not only learn, but become leaders in and out of the classroom.

The connections she forms with students don’t end with them leaving Brookview, either.  “I have been fortunate to develop lasting relationships with many students and families throughout my years at Brookview,” she said.

Liston was nominated for this spotlight by her peer, Brooke Folkers, who had high praise for her.  “Kathy does an outstanding job,” said Brooke. “She supports all staff and meets with students regularly.  She is incredibly kind and she’s passionate about her job. Everyone who knows her would say she adds great value to Brookview Elementary.”

Jen Kerley has had a passion for health for many years, but her biggest inspiration as a health teacher at Prairieview School is seeing her students grow in their learning.

“I want to give them tools to help them live healthy and productive lives,” she said. With the care and consideration she displays for each student, it’s no wonder that Kerley was nominated to be featured in myWaukee by Jori Nieman and Gracie Havnen.

Kerley went to college to pursue a community health education degree. During her first year working with all age groups for a county health department, she discovered that she especially enjoyed working in schools. She decided to return to school for teaching and earned a master’s degree in education. After six years of teaching middle school health in a Chicago suburb, she and her family moved to the Des Moines area in 2010. Kerley spent a few years teaching health at Waukee Middle School and is now finishing up her first year as a ninth grade teacher at Prairieview School.

While Kerley teaches a wide variety of health topics—from fitness and nutrition to diseases and first aid—her main goal is to impart lifelong skills to her students so they can continue to learn after they leave her classroom. For example, if a student needs to know about a subject like heart disease later on in their life, “they might not be able to recall all the information, but I hope I’ve given them the tools and skills to obtain the information that will be useful for them,” said Kerley.

The life skills taught by Kerley include goal-setting, advocating for themselves and others, and being able to interpret health information and apply it to improve their own health. “That’s my goal for them, so they can enhance their health for the rest of their lives,” said Kerley.

When she’s not teaching, Kerley spends much of her time with her husband and three children. In the midst of juggling activities and work, they do whatever they can to be together as a family.

 

 

Every school day, second grade teacher Nicole Pfitzenmaier’s goal is to show each of her 28 students that she cares about them. In fact, Pfitzenmaier’s special ability to connect with her students earned her two nominations from parents to be featured in our magazine, a first for myWaukee.

“She treats each and every child as parents would want their kid to be treated at school,” said Lisa Stout, while Sarah Wacker noted that Pfitzenmaier takes the time to “get to know them as individuals.”

Some of Pfitzenmaier’s earliest childhood memories involve setting up her own pretend classroom, using her dolls as “students.” Pfitzenmaier retained this desire to become a teacher and went on to earn an education degree from Upper Iowa University before earning a master’s degree from Viterbo University. She taught in San Diego, California for three years and then came to Walnut Hills Elementary in Waukee, where she’s been teaching for the last eight years.

Pfitzenmaier’s favorite subject to teach is literacy because she can see her students’ learning process firsthand, and because she can find out about their particular interests through the types of things they choose to read. She sees a lot of growth in her students’ reading and writing, “so it’s very rewarding,” she said.

Along with the typical second-grade curriculum of reading and math, Pfitzenmaier takes time each day to discuss important life skills with her students, such as how to set and meet goals, what it means to have empathy for others and how to be a trustworthy person. Some of her favorite moments in the classroom are when she sees her students applying what they’ve learned.

Because she has 28 students, Pfitzenmaier said that her challenge as a teacher is to make sure she “has a positive interaction with each one of them every day.” She went on to explain, “I want to make a difference in each one of their lives. I want them to know that I truly care about them.”

When she’s not teaching, Pfitzenmaier enjoys reading, traveling and spending time with her husband and two little boys.

 

As students leave Patrick Garland’s fourth grade classroom at Maple Grove Elementary in Waukee, they see a sign that reads, “If you think nobody cares, think again.” The sign is there because Garland sincerely cares about the well-being of his students, and he wants them to know they will always have his support.

“He always tells us to keep trying, and he believes in us,” said student Zaida Stroud, who nominated Garland for this feature.

While he was growing up, Garland mentored younger students, and found that he had a knack for it. In college, he a year in computer programming classes before changing direction to become a teacher. Garland taught for four years in Des Moines and then spent a couple of years as a computer programmer in corporate America before realizing that teaching was his true calling. He is now in his fifth year of teaching at Maple Grove.

Garland said he enjoys teaching at the fourth grade level because students are at the age when they are becoming more aware of history and current events. They’re also starting to understand a dry sense of humor, which Garland likes to incorporate into the classroom to keep things interesting. “It makes me want to come to school every day, and I think it makes them want to come to school every day,” he said.

Garland draws inspiration from seeing his students make new discoveries. “They struggle, and they keep trying, and then the day the light bulb turns on—I don’t think there’s anything in the world that’s better than that,” he said. He’s also inspired when he collaborates with other teachers and learns new material for the classroom. “Waukee provides a lot of professional development, so we’re continually learning,” he said. “I end up teaching the kids everything I learn because I get so excited.”

When he’s not teaching, Garland enjoys spending time with his family and building things out of scrap wood with his two sons. He’s also an avid reader and names Terry Goodkind and Stephen King as two of his favorite authors.

When nominating Garland for this story, Stroud said, “I love being on Team Garland, because we love our captain and he loves us back.” With feedback like that, it’s obvious that Garland truly provides the type of environment mentioned on his classroom sign—one in which he cares.

 

For sixth grade math and science teacher Shannon Roberts, the purpose of a fun classroom is to help students develop their natural curiosity. “I think if we can get them to love learning at this age, it will carry on throughout their life,” she said. Student Nathan Schwab, who nominated Roberts to be featured in myWaukee, said that Roberts “always has a positive attitude” and “makes her classes fun by having us learn through games.”

Roberts has been teaching for five years and has spent the last two of them at Waukee Middle School. She enjoys being a math and science teacher because it offers a balance between the straightforward, logical nature of math and the testing and exploration of science.

Seeing the learning process in each student inspires Roberts as a teacher. The most inspiring thing, she said, is when students score well on a test and she “can actually see the joy on their face that they got it.”

The best part of teaching, according to Roberts, is being able to work with many different teachers as well as students. Regarding her collaboration with other teachers of various backgrounds, Roberts said, “We’re not just a group, we’re a team that’s working together, and we all have the same goal.”  She also appreciates the support system of the school staff members. “If there’s ever any need for help, you can always reach out to somebody,” she said.

Roberts loves teaching because her daily work makes an impact that goes beyond the walls of the classroom and into her community as a whole. She cares about the growth of her students even after they move on from her class. “I hope that students can always reach out to me as a teacher,” she said, “and I would enjoy hearing about their journeys in other grades.”

For Laura Van Waardhuizen, the best part of teaching at Waukee High School is engaging in the discovery process with her students. “I don’t see myself teaching so much as saying, ‘Hi, I made this discovery! Don’t you want to make this discovery?’” she explained. That sense of wonder and exploration is what originally inspired her to become a teacher.

Known to her students as “VW,” Van Waardhuizen teaches three fashion-related courses at the high school.

One of her classes, Fashion Construction, is a hands-on class in which students learn to sew. While the class is definitely helpful for people who want to go into the industry, “it’s also good for engineers, because you actually get to see how something breaks down and gets put together,” said Van Waardhuizen.

Another of her classes, Fashion Analysis and Design, gives students an overview of the fashion industry. This helps them decide whether they want to go into a fashion career, and also provides exposure to universal business concepts, such as marketing and quality assurance.

Lastly, her Fiber Science class is a technically-based course in which students learn about the fibers used in garments and in non-clothing items, as well. Van Waardhuizen compares studying fibers to “the way builders study materials when building a house.”

The Fiber Science and Fashion Analysis and Design classes are dual-credit courses with Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC), meaning that students receive college credit upon completion of the classes.

In addition to teaching fashion courses, Van Waardhuizen also serves as an advisor to the student-run Waukee Fashion Club, which meets weekly at the high school.

Before becoming a teacher, Van Waardhuizen was a designer at the clothing company Lands’ End. However, she felt something was missing in her career there and decided to go into teaching so she could reclaim a sense of discovery in her work.

Despite the misconceptions some may have about the types of courses she teaches, Van Waardhuizen knows they are worthwhile because they teach real-life skills and allow students to explore. “I would heartily encourage every student to get involved in an FCS [family and consumer science] class because you’ll find new passions,” she said. The creativity of her students inspires Van Waardhuizen. “If it weren’t for my students, I don’t think I would do this.”

Outside of the classroom, Van Waardhuizen enjoys creative projects such as painting and redecorating. She and her husband love to travel, but they also love the close-knit feel of the growing Waukee community. In her own projects, as in her classroom, Van Waardhuizen embraces exploration, problem-solving, and the “adrenaline-pumping” fun of creativity.