New teachers join Polson community
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POLSON — School clothes, new crayons, pencils and backpacks, lunch money and new classes all add up to a new school year for students.
But one question on every student’s mind is “What is my new teacher like?”
This year Polson School District No. 23 has lots of new faces welcoming students.
Lyndsey Evertz
Having lived in Polson since she was 15, Lyndsey Evertz said she is proud to live in Polson and raise her children here. She will teach special education at Cherry Valley School.
Evertz was an educational interpreter, sign language teacher and paraprofessional before she taught at Early Childhood Services. She attended Salish Kootenai College for her Elementary/Early Childhood Education degree and continued on to the University of Montana for Special Education training.
With two children in Polson Middle School, Evertz and her husband attend lots of sports and activities. They have family in Polson and Washington State.
Evertz enjoys spending time with her family. As a family, the Evertzs enjoy hiking and jet skiing.
“I enjoy all aspects of teaching,” Evertz explained, “but what I enjoy the most is watching children grow from the beginning of the year to the end.”
Stephanie St. Clair
Stephanie St. Clair teaches kindergarten at Cherry Valley. A first-year teacher, she lived in Polson as a child and moved back seven years ago. She got her teaching degree from Grand Canyon University Online.
St. Clair and her husband, Curtis Ward, have two children, Xavier, 8, and Caitlyn, 6.
St. Clair is the treasurer for the cub scouts. She loves to read, and she and her family spend a lot of time camping, fishing, biking and hiking in the summer.
“My favorite aspect of teaching is the kids. They are the reason we are here, and they should always be number one,” St. Clair explained.
Christine Ayers
New fourth-grade teacher at Linderman is Christine Ayers. She and her family moved to Polson 11 years ago from Telluride, Colo. This is her first year teaching, but she has been director of the After School Program at Linderman for nine years.
She graduated with a biology degree from
Colorado State University, but recently she returned to school at Salish Kootenai College and graduated with a degree in Elementary Education.
Ayers has “a wonderful husband and two magical children.” Her children attend Polson Middle School.
Spare minutes are spent outdoors hiking, gardening and bird watching. She loves to knit, watch football and travel whenever she can.
Ayers’ favorite aspect of teaching is getting to know students and families while helping students reach their fullest potential.
Tessa Hupka
Beginning work at Polson Middle School, Tessa Hupka will teach special education and will work with fifth grade students.
Hupka received her teaching degree at Montana State University-Billings and taught for five years at Lewis and Clark Middle School in Billings before the Hupka family moved here four years ago.
She and husband Shad have a daughter, Ali, a fourth grade, and a son, Carson, first grade.
She likes to read, scrapbook, downhill ski, water ski, boat, hike, garden and play games with her family.
“My favorite aspect of teaching is when you are teaching a lesson, and a student has an ah-ha moment,” Hupka said. “It is pure joy when that connection is made.”
Leslie Dalbey teaches seventh grade life science at Polson Middle School, and husband Matt Dalbey teaches seventh grade social studies.
Leslie was born in raised in Montana while Matt lived in Iowa and Missouri as a young child and then moved to Montana for grade school.
Matt attended Montana State University and Boise State University while Leslie attended the University of Montana.
The Dalbeys spent the last 11 years in Nampa, Idaho, and “are thrilled to be back in Montana.” They have a sixth-grade son and a third-grader daughter. They’ve also hosted exchange students from Finland and Austria and consider them part of the family.
Before coming to PMS, Leslie taught at South Middle School in Nampa, and Matt taught at Skyview High School.
Matt plays basketball and is an avid sports fan. He enjoys coaching youth sports, hiking, camping and playing board games.
Leslie also enjoys camping, hiking and playing board games with friends and family, and she also likes to scrapbook and geocache.
“I love those moments when a kid has a ‘light bulb moment’ and something clicks, and he/she is so excited,” Leslie said.
Heather Bleecker
A new mathematics teacher at Polson High School, Heather Bleecker is new to Montana and excited to be here.
“It is so beautiful, and the people are nice,” she explained.
Bleecker has over six years experience teaching high school math in Long Beach, Calif.
She received her BA and MA from California State University-Long Beach.
Her family lives in southern California.
“Here in Montana, I will be adopting the PHS staff and students as my family,” Bleecker said.
She loves the outdoors — hiking, backpacking, trail running and biking. She hopes to learn to hunt, fish and ski. Bleecker also likes to quilt.
Her favorite aspect of teaching is teaching math in new and exciting ways.
“My goal is to make math accessible to all students,” she explained. “It is important to get the students involved in their own learning so he/she builds confidence in his/her ability to delve deeper into mathematics concepts that before may have caused fear.”
Other new teachers who had not sent in answers as of press time are:
Cherry Valley Elementary School
Nicole Big Bow
Katie Knutson
JeNae Forman Webster
Linderman Elementary School
John Gustafson
Polson Middle School
Joey Kolattutudy, seventh grade English
Patti Mills, fifth grade
Anthony Tolliver, seventh grade math
Amy Williams-Christopher, special education
Last three periods of the day:
Anna Henderson, Spanish
Dawn Matt, choir
Polson High School
Anna Henderson, Spanish
Jeanne Latimer, business
Dawn Matt, choral music
