Scott Swanson
Sweet Home School District welcomes 25 new teachers this year. These are brand-new district teachers, joining 16 others returning from various positions last year with the district.
Here is a list of the new arrivals, with details provided by the district:
— Alex Bailey, first-grade teacher at Oak Heights. He is from Minneapolis, Minn., where he graduated from Augsburg University. This is his first year of teaching.
— Michelle Bradley, who will teach physical education at Oak Heights. She was a classified employee at Hawthorne previously, and this will be her first year of teaching.
— Victoria (Tori) Clark, who will teach sixth grade at Foster. A graduate of Sweet Home High School and Portland State, this is her first teaching position.
— Jesse Fipps, who will teach second grade at Oak Heights. This will be his first year of teaching although he substituted last year for the Springfield School District. A 2021 graduate of Linfield University, he is working on a master’s degree through the University of Phoenix.
— Andrea Foley, who will teach family consumer science at the high school. She brings 23 years of experience in the Salem-Keizer School District. She earned her master’s degree at Oregon State University.
— Ali Gardner, who will teach physical education at the junior high. A Sweet Home graduate and parent, she worked for the Lebanon School District until 2019, and is teaching half-time.
— Amanda GaVette, a 2002 graduate of Sweet Home High School who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Western Oregon, will serve as assistant principal at the junior high after teaching for 16 years in the Greater Albany School District.
— Sirena Hepburn, who will teach sixth grade at Holley. A 2022 graduate of Oregon State University, she comes from Redmond. This will be her first teaching assignment.
— Scott Jacobson, who will teach agriculture education at the high school. A native of Southern California, he graduated from Oregon State University with a master’s degree and is coming to Sweet Home after three years with the North Clackamas School District.
— Ryan Kildea, who will teach science at the Junior High. From Corvallis, he has a bachelor’s degree from Oregon State University and is working on a master’s degree from Western Oregon. This will be his first year of teaching.
— Josalyn Lawrence, who will serve as a mental health counselor at the high school. A graduate of Sweet Home, she earned a master’s degree from Corban University in clinical mental health counseling. This will be her first year as an educator.
— Miranda Lind, who will teach third grade at Oak Heights. She is a graduate of the University of Montana. This will be her first teaching assignment.
— Kirsten Marin, who will teach kindergarten at Oak Heights. A graduate of Oregon State University, she comes to Sweet Home after a year in Lebanon.
— Haley May, who will be a counselor at the high school. A graduate of Sweet Home High School, she earned a bachelor’s degree in counseling psychology at Corban University.
— Pamela McCoy, who will teach first grade at Oak Heights. A graduate of University of Nevada, she earned a master’s degree from the University of Phoenix. She comes to Sweet Home after 12 years teaching in the Clark County School District in Nevada.
— Erika (Evans) Molebash, who will teach social studies at the high school. From Hillsboro, she earned a master’s degree from Oregon State University. This will be her first year as a teacher.
— Joni Ortiz, who will teach science at the high school. She brings 14 years of experience as a teacher, most recently in Hawaii, and including a previous stint in Sweet Home.
— Addison Reukauf, who will teach language arts at the Junior High. A graduate student at Oregon State University, she is a first-year teacher.
— Taylour Stanley Valdez, who will teach language arts at the high school. A graduate of Grand Canyon University with a bachelor’s degree in English for Secondary Education, she is a first-year teacher.
— Michael Stevenson, who will be a counselor at Foster School. A recent graduate of Western Oregon with a bachelor’s degree in educational psychology, this will be his first year in education.
— Deborah Suing, who will teach a fifth-sixth combo class at Oak Heights. A veteran teacher, she comes from Lebanon and, previously, from Portland, with over 18 years of experience.
— Lady Carolina Tavarez Varela, who will teach Spanish at the high school. She has more than 11 years of experience teaching in both the United States and internationally, most recently in the Osceola School District in Arizona.
— Evan Teter, who will teach physical education at Foster School. A 2022 graduate of George Fox, he earned a bachelor’s degree in education.
— Kate (Hawken) Virtue, who will teach fourth grade at Foster School. A Sweet Home graduate, she earned a bachelor’s degree in educational studies from Western Governors University and will continue studies for a master’s degree. This is her first year as a teacher.
— Emily Wood, who will head the Opportunity Room at Oak Heights. She is a recent graduate of the University of Oregon, with a master’s in special education.