Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! Teachers are the heart and soul of our schools. Below, we are recognizing our middle school educators.
Eisenhower Middle School
Dianna Heddinger
"Dianna Heddinger was my middle school band teacher from 2008-2010 at Eisenhower. She helped my passion and love of music grow like nobody else could. She makes sure her students know they are valued, important, and cared for. Dianna continued to be my mentor throughout high school when I decided I wanted to be a band director just like her. She drove to Chicago multiple times while I was in college just to see me perform and has continued to be one of my biggest supporters. I am so fortunate that now we are colleagues and she continues to mentor me in my first band director job. I want to thank her for all of her support, encouragement, advice, and so much more throughout the years. Best Teacher Ever!"
-submitted by Courtney Kubacki
Mark Mase
"I want to thank Mr. Mase because he makes math really fun, and because of him, I look forward to being in his class. One time in his class, he was explaining how do this equation, and he added houses and names so we can understand. He made the problem fun and easy."
-submitted by Mohid Siddiqui
Flinn Middle School
Paige Adkins
“She is the kindest teacher I know."
-submitted Serenity Kittle
Amanda Andrus
"Thank you for being the nice teacher and one of my favorite out of all of them. You are good at teaching 7th Grade ELA at Flinn Middle School and play Blookets some days during 6th Hour. I'm glad that I have you for 7th Grade ELA because I was hoping to have you and my hope came true! Thank you for teaching your students including me."
-submitted by Jaydran Johnson
" I want to thank this teacher because they are nice and always helpful."
-submitted by Armani Aviles
Aubrey Barnett
"I want to thank Mrs.Barnett for giving me the best English class. Her class was the best class I have ever been in. The way she connects to students and teaches them in the way they need is something I admire. She brought smiles to everyone’s face and made sure everyone was included in everything. She would go out of her way to make sure students were happy and learning the way she needed. She would check up on students to make sure they were mentally doing okay. She understood mental health and the way 8th graders were. I had her in 21-22 school year. I will never forget her and the way she helped me finish my middle school years. I will always appreciate Mrs. Barnett."
-submitted by Theo Rielly
Jacob Bergeron
“He has been an amazing and fun teacher. He likes to make his students happy."
-submitted by Ameer Sharif
Jasmine Chavez Espinoza
“She is a really nice teacher, and I love her so much. She's my favorite. She also is a very good teacher, and she is just a good person in general."
-submitted by Adalyn Flint
“She is so nice and make fun projects and is kind to everyone."
-submitted by Linh Huynh
Joseph Free
"Mr. Free is upbeat and captures the interest of middle school children. My special needs daughter truly likes him, "he gives second chances," she said. Thank you, Mr. Free!"
-submitted by Michele Gutzmer
Emilie Godlewski
"Mrs. G. is my special needs child's teacher for Intensive Curriculum Support, and she is worth her weight in gold. This was my child's first year at Flinn after we pulled her from 7 years in gifted, and I was so worried about how she'd adjust. Mrs. G. genuinely wants my child to succeed. She went to her swim meet, she keeps in touch with me regularly, and I truly believe my daughter's success at Flinn this year is largely due to Mrs. G.'s support. I'm so grateful for her!"
-submitted by Michele Gutzmer
Katy Griffin
"She's just nice."
-submitted by Ichiro Mahavong
"She is a great educator and teaches me well."
-Jiraiya Ziza
"She makes work easy and is chill and probably the nicest ela teacher I've heard of."
-Garrett Ryan
"She has been a very good teacher to me. She is my favorite teacher, and I think that she deserves an award."
-Kasiah Pulley
"For teaching me to write and read in a different perspective and to look at books and essays different to make it easy than before! She is a great teacher and I could not be where I'm at if it was for her."
-Sophia Bugbee
"She is so nice, and that's what matters."
-submitted by Jaxon Akey
Jennifer Meinke
"My daughter started at Flinn this year after we pulled her from 7 years in gifted. Math was a sore subject, as she struggled with it. Mrs. Meinke wanted her to succeed and to feel confident, and now my daughter has done both. I am so glad she had this experience in Math with Mrs. Meinke."
-submitted by Michele Gutzmer
Jody Nordgren
"Ms. Nordgren is down to earth and real. She gets my daughter excited about science, and she sees the goodness in my daughter that others struggled to see. My special needs daughter was new to Flinn this year, and she tells me she feels safe with Ms. Nordgren. She's an asset to both Flinn and 205!"
-submitted by Michele Gutzmer
Tara Olson
"For being an awesome teacher who helps get my grade up with subjections on my missing work! She is kind and makes work simple!"
-submitted by Sophia Bugbee
Valerie Simon
"I thank Mrs.Simon for being an amazing 7th grade ELA teacher. Soon as we met each other, we had a strong connection, bond. She never gave up on me when I would struggle. She gave amazing advice even when I was having problems outside of school. She attended events that I would invite her to such as my sport events and my 8th grade graduation. She goes out her way and still comes to visit me at my current high school. We never lost our connection. We still communicate daily and do daily check ups. She makes sure I'm on top of my grades and not falling behind. She is more then just my favorite teacher, she is like family. I trust her with everything and love her!"
-submitted by Cor'Nijah Knuckles
Tracy Tartaglia
"For teaching math I had not known. She needs to be noticed of her kindness and for her understanding."
-submitted by Sophia Bugbee
Joanna Tekampe
"She has been there for me since I came here. She is a big supporter."
-submitted by Amber Hills
Cara Wolfe
"She fosters my daughter's love of reading, and she genuinely likes her. She has shared so many good stories with me about her, and as a parent of a special needs child, that doesn't happen often. Ms. Wolfe truly deserved that Golden Apple!"
-submitted by Michele Gutzmer
West Middle School
Linda Blakeley
"Always going Out of Her way to help the students! She has been there for Payton and not only witnessed inappropriate behavior towards my daughter and took over for that staff so my daughter was treated with the dignity and respect she deserves! Also she went above and beyond and called to check on her that evening and check to see if there was anything she may need help with! Every Teacher should have her patience! It goes a long way with the children and the parents!"
-submitted by Michelle Kerstetter