Bigfork High School adds three to new year's staff

Bigfork High School has added three new staff members for the 2009-2010 school year, all of whom have been impressed by the school's supportive and welcoming environment.

Sue McGregor has taken on a half-time secretary position supporting the library and guidance office. She is filling in for librarian Matt Porrovecchio when he has to leave to fulfill the duties of his other position at the school of activities director, and will help cover guidance counselor Christina Nadeau's desk when she takes maternity leave next month. Last year McGregor had three long-term substitute stints at Bigfork middle and elementary schools, but this is her first time working at a high school.

"I love being in the school setting," McGregor said. "I have a bachelor's degree in human development-family science. I just really enjoy being around kids."

Kristi Kappes has been hired on to teach pre-algebra, algebra 1B and pre-calculus. A 1995 graduate of Missoula's Sentinel High School, Kappes spent most of her time living outside of Montana working as mechanical engineer after graduating from Montana Technical College in Butte. When she and her husband, who is from Kalispell, decided they wanted to return to Montana, Kappes decided to get a master of arts degree in teaching. A year and a half ago, she and her husband moved to Kalispell from Lexington, Ky., and she worked as a para-educator at Flathead High School.

"There's not a lot of mechanical engineering jobs in Montana and my second career choice was teaching," Kappes said. "So I went back to school to be a teacher and hopefully inspire other kids to be mechanical engineers."

Kappes said that although she misses the humidity of Kentucky, she is enjoying being back in the Valley.

"We started snow shoeing," Kappes said. "Camping is a lot nicer here too than in Kentucky because it cools down at night. We're getting back into the outdoors, which we used to do a lot when we lived here before."

Kappes said that she is impressed by the quality of students at BHS and is not concerned about their recent problems with Bigfork not meeting the No Child Left Behind proficiency standards on last year's tests.

"Standardized tests don't always represent where the kids are," Kappes said "These kids are working really hard and I don't think it is a reflection of where they are at. A lot of schools don't pass it and I don't think it says anything negative about the school or the students."

The high school's other new math teacher, Carrie Eklund, agreed that the tests aren't the only defining point for the students and that it isn't necessarily a negative situation.

"I think it's really exciting," Eklund said. "I view it as a challenge. People are open to incorporating new ideas and real-life math skills that Kristi and I have to offer."

Eklund, who teaches pre-algebra, algebra I and geometry, received a double major in chemical engineering and molecular biology from Tulane University in Louisiana and went on to work as a biochemical engineer.

"I think real-life math skills are helpful and often more appealing to kids that may have otherwise lost interest in math," Eklund said. "They give relevance to concepts which helps kids understand the material better."

For the last two years, Eklund has been serving in the Peace Corps in Jamaica helping with water and sanitation with the Ministry of Health. She also spent a few days each week at a school assisting with health education and in the guidance department. Additionally, Eklund taught adult education literacy classes while she was there.

While in the Jamaica, Eklund enrolled in Montana State University's online classes and is working on getting her master's in education-curriculum and instruction.

"It was great because I could work on my degree online while I was in Jamaica and I was helping at the schools so I could try things out that I was learning right there," Eklund said.

Both of Eklund's parents went into the education field, so it was always something she thought about getting into.

"It was something that was always appealing to me and something I was always interested in," Eklund said.

Eklund is originally from Chicago and chose to come to Montana with her husband, who is from Geraldine, when they got out of the Peace Corps.