East Valley School District Leads In Hires With 23 New Teachers

Many students in the Spokane Valley are facing teachers who are new to the area this year. East Valley School District alone has hired 23 new teachers this year, 12 of them in their first year of teaching.

The teachers themselves come from as nearby as Post Falls and as far away as Virginia.

Here’s a little information about each of the newcomers at East Valley:

Otis Orchards

Elementary Chris Markofski is teaching first grade. Named state Rookie Teacher of the Year last year while teaching kindergarten at Spangle, Markofski has a bachelor’s in education from Eastern Washington University.

Norma Woodward is a special education teacher in her first year of teaching. She has a master’s degree in special education from Gonzaga University.

Skyview Elementary

Susan Abba is an early childhood special education teacher, coming to East Valley from Sandpoint where she taught pre-school. Abba has a bachelor’s in special education from Gonzaga.

Trent Elementary

Rose Waterbury, who has a bachelor’s degree from Central Washington University, is job-sharing in a fourth-fifth multi-age classroom.

East Valley Middle School

Tim Busse is joining the alternative program at the middle school. He has a master’s in education from Washington State University; this is his first year teaching.

Christina Cysewski, who taught most recently in Omak, Wash., is teaching sixth grade. She has a bachelor’s in education from WSU.

Donald Erickson, a first year educator, is teaching special education. His bachelor’s is in general studies from Gonzaga.

Leah Lucero is a special education, multi-handicapped teacher at the middle school and Otis Orchards. She comes to the district from Manassas, Va., and has a master’s in education from George Mason University.

Kyle Rydell is teaching sixth grade and has a bachelor’s in education from EWU. This is his first year teaching.

Brock Salzman, who has a master’s in education from WSU, is a counselor at the middle school. This is his first year in education.

Heather Schultz is teaching sixth grade. She previously taught a second-third grade in Olympia. Schultz has a bachelor’s in elementary education from Whitworth College.

Stephanie Stallings is a reading specialist. She taught eighth grade special education at Richland. Her bachelor’s is in special education from Gonzaga.

Nicole Sweet, who has a bachelor’s in education from EWU, is teaching sixth grade. She previously taught fifth grade in Coeur d’Alene.

Yolanda Westerberg comes from Post Falls, where she taught kindergarten. She is teaching sixth grade and has a bachelor’s in elementary education from Oregon State University.

Joshua Wilcox, in his first year, is teaching math and science. His bachelor’s is in business management from Whitworth.

Mountain View Middle School

Benjamin Gannon is teaching language arts. He is in his first year of teaching and has a bachelor’s in English from WSU.

East Valley High School

Kate Bowerman, who comes from Spokane School District, is teaching science. She previously taught biology and physical science. Her degree is a master’s in science from EWU.

Robert Collins is a health teacher in his first year. He has a bachelor’s in education from EWU.

Sean Dotson, an English teacher, comes to East Valley from Kitsap, Wash. His earned his bachelor’s in education from EWU.

Julia Jones, who has a master’s in education from Whitworth, is teaching science in her first year.

Amy Tellinghusen, a family and consumer science teacher, is in her first year of teaching. Her bachelor’s is in home economics from WSU.

Stephanie Watson is teaching English; her degree is a bachelor’s in English from Gonzaga. This is her first year of teaching.

East Valley School District

Bethany Farstad is a speech pathologist for the district. She most recently worked in Kellogg, Idaho. Her degree is a master’s in speech and hearing from WSU.

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MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: What about CV, WV? The Valley Voice will publish information on new teachers in the West Valley School District on Saturday and the Central Valley School District on Sept. 18.