Inside lobby of South Salem High School, photo taken by Ashley Ingebrigtsen
A new school year brings not only new students, but also new staff at South Salem High School. South hired many new staff members this year, including Instructional Assistants, Coaches, a Behavioral Specialist, a Counselor, a Health Assistant and numerous teachers. Some teachers are not new to the building, but new to their positions. Patrick Frost used to be an Instructional Assistant (IA) at South but has now taken up a new role as a Wellness 1 and 2 teacher.
I worked as an Instructional Assistant for the last three or four years but wanted to be up-front teaching. I did online school at night and during my free time. Once I graduated, I interviewed for a few different jobs around the district and at South but did not get any of them. I thought I was going to be an IA again this year until about 5 days before the school year started when this position came open. I bought a custom wiffle ball bat from Mr. Elliott and he told me he might be moving on to a job closer to where he lives and he encouraged me to apply to replace him. Other admins and staff encouraged me to apply as well. I interviewed for the position and got an offer pretty quickly because school was starting soon. It was a whirlwind getting ready for the year because this is my first-year teaching and I had no supplies, decorations or tools. I have been playing catch up, but I am getting there, Frost said.
Heather Guzman
South also gained a couple of new science teachers, one of them being Heather Guzman, a chemistry teacher. She went to the University of North Texas and Grand Canyon University and taught different science classes at two schools, one in Dallas, Texas and another at Sprague High School.
“I have been teaching Chemistry for a long time, but I still love looking for new ideas. My Chemistry team is great at collaborating about what concepts we want to teach and what things we want to do. Teamwork makes the dream work,” Guzman said.
Tyson Pratt
Tyson Pratt is a new Spanish I and II teacher at South. He attended Blue Mountain Community College, Western Oregon University, Eastern Oregon University and George Fox University. He studied Spanish and English, along with Special Education and Educational Administration. He taught Spanish and World Languages at Crossler Middle School before coming to South. He wants to inspire students to do more than they think they can, and enjoys being a teacher.
“I like to learn from young people. I greet students. I encourage. I look for the positives. I often ignore the negative,” Pratt said.
Sara Nickel
Sara Nickel is also a new language teacher at South. She teaches French I, III and IB French, both Standard and Higher Level, (SL and HL). She went to the University of Oregon (U of O) for her undergrad, and Willamette University for her Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT). She taught English in France for a school year after U of O, before enrolling into Willamette. She likes to build a safe and welcoming environment for every student who enters her classroom.
“I try to start each class by greeting students at the door with a smile and a hello in French. I do my best to learn my students’ names quickly (gets harder as I age) so that I can greet them as they enter class. I try to make everyone feel comfortable and welcome by checking in with them. I want all of my students to succeed and I have high expectations for them, so I keep encouraging them to improve,” Nickel said.
There will be a part two featuring other new teachers at South.
