New teachers join Polson schools staff
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POLSON — Polson schools welcomed seven new teachers and four student teachers back to school on September 3.
Charlotte Delaney joins School District 23 as a speech language pathologist. A graduate of the University of Wyoming, Delaney taught in Wyoming and Colorado before moving to Polson, where her husband, Jason, grew up.
Delaney and her husband have two daughters, Morgan, 5, and Quinn, 3, and are expecting their third child in October.
Delaney is a runner and likes being with her family and friends.
Salish Kootenai College student Anastasia Incashola is student teaching with Darcy Laud, a second grade teacher at Linderman Elementary School. A lifelong resident of the area, Incashola graduated from Two Eagle River School and will be graduating from SKC’s elementary education program with a bachelor’s degree.
Incashola loves to powwow and travel as much as she can. She also likes to spend time with her family, play with her son, Alias, and bead.
The top two things Incashola likes about teaching are the relationship a teacher builds with each student and the students diverse personalities and the growth in each child throughout the year.
Jordan Ives teaches health and physical education at Polson Middle School.
Ives attended the University of Montana and taught last year at Lowell Elementary School in Missoula.
Ives and her husband James moved from Victor, and her hobbies and interest are hiking, backpacking, bicycling, running, swimming and other outdoor pursuits.
Her favorite part of teaching is the kids and “helping to get them excited about keeping fit and healthy.”
Kathy Knapp accepted the job as home involvement coordinator. Knapp worked in the Ronan schools for the last six years as home school coordinator where she was the connection between schools and homes. She’s also worked with Upward Bound and Gear Up.
No one held the home involvement coordinator last year, and Knapp will be working the administrators, counselors and teachers to support students and families.
Knapp moved to the Mission Valley in 1983. She loves horses and other animals.
Trisha Ollinger is student teaching at Polson High School with Dan O’Brien in the science department. She moved to the area in 2007 and attended Salish Kootenai College. Ollinger loves to play softball, beading, drawing and enjoying her family.
Ollinger’s favorite part of teaching if being a positive role model and a mentor, and she likes to see students enjoy learning.
The new face in the English Department at Polson High School is Patricia Luetzen. She teaches mostly freshman English and comes to Polson from Minot, N.D. She has 25 years of teaching experience — “11 years in a schools that graduates 450 kids per year and 14 years in a school that graduates 15 kids per year.”
Luetzen graduated from Penn State University, where she received a BA and played volleyball for the Nittany Lions. She received her BA in English education from Minot State University.
Luetzen has two children, Danielle and Kent. Danielle graduated from the University of North Dakota and Kent is a senior at the University of North Dakota.
She’s already a member of the Mission Valley Aquatic Center as a lap swimmer and enjoys Montana’s outdoors.
“To really learn,” Luetzen said, “we have to be taken out of our comfort zone. When teachers and coaches have a student’s trust, (kids) are capable of amazing themselves with their abilities.”
Mariah Newell is student teaching at Cherry Valley Elementary School with kindergarten teacher Kylynn Sherry.
Newell grew up in Eureka, and student teaching is the last step for her before she graduates from the University of Montana-Western. Her hobbies are playing basketball and watching football. She also likes to spend time with her friends and family and read.
Newell is living with grandmother, Gail Graves, and her aunt and uncle, Marcie and Trevor Motichka, while she student teaches in Polson.
Brett Owen, a Polson native, returns to Polson High School as digital media/marketing teacher.
Before PHS, Owen taught at Chandler High School and Florence High School in Arizona.
He’s a graduate of Dickinson State University.
As a teacher, Owen said, “I like the fact that everyday has its exciting new experiences. I also enjoy working with students and co-works towards the progression of our school’s success.
In his spare time, Owen enjoys golfing, fishing and coaching. Owen’s parents, Pam and Bill Owen, live in Polson and brother Curtis is a counselor at Chandler High School, and brother Matt teaches 7th grade math in Kalispell.
Originally from Billings, Katie Rehberg moved to Polson from West Yellowstone. She teaches Spanish 1 and 2 and 6th grade Spanish in Polson Middle School and Spanish 2 in Polson High School.
Rehberg did her student teaching in Ennis and taught last year in West Yellowstone. She graduated from Montana State University.
Rehberg said she grew up in theatre and loves to sings and dance. She’s a reader and a crafter and is involved in Job’s Daughters, Pi Beta Phi and Daughters of the Nile.
Rehberg loves to teach because it incorporates all the things she loves — “I love seeing the spark when a kid ‘gets it,’ even if it means I have to make a fool of myself for them to understand. If you walk into my class, you will probably see me singing, dancing, doing crafts, reading, acting or dressing up in a funny costume. Whatever it takes!”
Colton Woods teaches physical education and health at Polson High School. Woods is a Polson native and graduated from PHS, and this is his first teaching job.
He graduated from the University of Montana—Western in Dillon.
Woods’ favorite aspect of teaching is “providing young adults with the information and techniques needed to succeed in living a healthy lifestyle.”
As “a very active individual who enjoys participating in a wide variety of athletics,” Wood also enjoys coaching both basketball and football.
Information for student teacher Melesa Butler was unavailable at press time.
