
Hard to believe this is my fifth year at Kootenai. Go Team!
During the year one will find me, most often, in room 2 at the junior high. Some say I need the space away at the end of the hall. Others might need the space away from ME!
For three hours of the day junior high students will be engrossed in their science materials. Some days we will be quietly immersed in our reading, but other days . . . it can be brimming with activity, a bit loud, and definitely full of excitement. (Hence the need for space.)
I also teach two high school classes. Kootenai has a beginning German class. "Alles klar?" In the past we have had German Two, but this year the numbers for that class were low, so instead a new offering has been introduced, "Intro to Theater!" (Speech and Theater Communications is my first major.) This class has proved to be full of energy. We do not have plans for an actual Theater Production, yet.
The teaching profession was a later choice for me. For many years I was in the US Army. Initially I worked in a publications center in Frankfurt, Germany. (Combined with college German, hence the language instruction at Kootenai.) Later I went to the Defensive Language Institute in Washington DC for instruction in Lao. (One of the people in my class was set to be the Ambassador to Laos AND had been a hostage in Tehran in the late '70's!) For the better part of two years I help in the search for POWs and MIAs in SE Asia. This involved much trekking through jungles, and often the discovery of small bombs, hand grenades and larger ordinance.
After the Army I worked with my father at his roofing company. However I knew I eventually wanted to return to school and complete my teaching credential. This I did through Eastern Washington University in 2002.
I taught in the Kent WA school district for 6 years, starting in a 4th and 5th grade classroom, moving 'up' to junior high after three year. After Kent my wife and I moved to North Central Washington where I taught middle school at Paschal Sherman Indian School. We then moved to Spokane in 2013. I was a substitute in Spokane Valley for a couple of years before deciding to get back into the classroom full time.
Here at Kootenai I love the small classes and the personalized nature of our school. I always tell students there are "15 of you. Never should one leave class with a question."
One of my great personal joys is coaching sports here at Kootenai. I am the junior high football coach. Four years ago Kootenai re-established the Warrior wrestling squad. I coach both the junior and senior high. (The junior high has won the sportsmanship award for two years now, a very proud moment for all of us.)
Lastly, I am so happy that my wife works only five doors down, Mrs. Brown the ELA teacher.
1st hour - Prep
2nd hour - 8 Science
3rd hour - 6 Science
4th hour - Jr. High German
5th hour - 7 Science
6th hour - German
7th hour - Intro to Theater