10 new staff to start at Boyceville and Glenwood City

By Cara L. Dempski

GLENWOOD CITY — When school starts on September 1 in Boyceville, there will be five new teachers. Glenwood City Schools will also welcome five new teachers when school starts on September 6.

 Boyceville

The new teachers at Boyceville will be working with students in the early learning center through 12th grade. They are listed here in alphabetical order.

Bourget

Cindy Bourget will be taking over as middle school counselor. She will be helping students with character education, career education, and skill development to help them become successful students and adults.

Bourget is a 2005 graduate of Elk Mound High School and attended UW – River Falls as an undergraduate. Bourget graduated from River Falls in 2009 with a degree in English Literature. She then pursued a masters in School Counseling at UW – Stout, graduating in 2015.

She worked with the UW Extension as part of the Youth Development Program and with UW – Stout’s TRIO Talent Search program prior to taking her position in Boyceville.

Bourget applied for the school counseling position in Boyceville because she developed a deep caring for the youth of Dunn County. She expressed excitement at getting her position.

“The students of Boyceville are wonderful people, and I can’t wait to serve them as they develop into strong community leaders,” Bourget said.

Dicks

Abby Dicks will be an instructor in the early learning center. She graduated from Menomonie High School in 2006.

Dicks attended UW – River Falls, where she earned a degree in Elementary Education in 2011. She has been working for the district for several years as a reading interventionist and substitute teacher.

“I really enjoy the staff, family and community,” Dicks said of Boyceville.

Heifner

Beth Heifner will be teaching kindergarten this year at Tiffany Creek Elementary School.

Heifner graduated from West Central Area High School in far Western Minnesota in 1994. She went on to Minnesota State University at Mankato, and graduated with a degree in Elementary Education in 2001.

Heifner taught for many years in Minnesota, and eventually became the school director for a company called Bright Horizons. She worked there for eight years before moving to Boyceville. Her husband, Dennis, is from Boyceville and he and Heifner returned to his hometown after their daughter, Stella, was born.

Johnson

Kaitlyn Johnson will be providing Spanish education for Boyceville schools. She is a 2012 graduate of Blair-Taylor High School.

Johnson pursued her education degree at UW – Eau Claire, graduating in May 2016. This is her first job, and she is very excited to be working in Boyceville.

“I like small schools and wanted to stay in the Eau Claire area,” Johnson said of applying to work for Boyceville.

Kuehl

Kelsey Kuehl graduated from DeForest High School, near Madison, in 2010. She will be teaching visual arts to Boyceville’s kindergarten through sixth-grade students.

Kuehl is a 2015 graduate of UW – Stout with a degree in Art Education. She applied for the position she now occupies because the job fits her certification.

She served as a substitute teacher in Boyceville, Spring Valley and Eau Claire after graduating last December. Kuehl also worked as a teacher for the Menomonie School District’s art camp this summer.

Glenwood City

Glenwood’s new staff will be working with students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

Briggs

Jackie Briggs will begin her teaching career as a special education teacher at the middle school. She is a 2011 graduate of Somerset High School, and obtained her degree in elementary and special education from UW – LaCrosse in May of this year.

She expressed great excitement to be working her first job in Glenwood City.

Briggs also said she is looking forward to working with the students and families of the community and is very happy to be a Hilltopper.

Gretzlock

Paula Gretzlock accepted a part-time position with the district as an elementary school counselor. She has been a school counselor for 15 years and has worked in education for over 20 years.

Gretzlock said she is excited to be around the energy and enthusiasm of elementary-aged students. Her goal is to rebuild a school counseling program to support their needs.

She said getting to know the students and families she works with is very important in order to be a resource for the district.

Johnson

Brenda Johnson will be working as an art teacher and as a teacher in the transitional skills center. She is a graduate of Pepin High School, and returned to work there after finishing her education degree at Winona State University.

In the six years she worked in Pepin, she filled multiple roles. Johnson taught art part-time to junior high and pre-school students, and worked as a Title I math and reading paraprofessional and as an at-risk paraprofessional.

She said she is looking forward to making Glenwood City her new home.

Kjellberg

Carrie Kjellberg is taking over as a middle/high school Spanish instructor. She graduated from St. Croix Central High School and attended Concordia in Moorhead, Minnesota.

Kjellberg holds degrees in Spanish, education and coaching. Prior to working for Glenwood City, she taught Spanish to kindergarten through 12th-grade students at private, public and charter schools. She also has coached volleyball, basketball and softball.

Kjellberg lives in New Richmond with her family and expressed thanks for the opportunity to teach for Glenwood City.

Main

Jodi Main will be providing nursing care for all the students in Glenwood City. She is a 2001 graduate of Glenwood City High School.

Main has worked as a nurse for the past 12 years in a range of settings, but many of them were spent in direct care for children. She said she looks forward to taking care of the children and their health care needs for the school district.

Main also will be serving as the C-squad volleyball coach at Glenwood City High School his season.