When the first bell rings this morning, Flandreau public school children will meet nine new teachers who will help them during this school year. Classes start at 8:30 a.m. and dismiss today at 1:30 p.m.
Here are mini-profiles of the new teachers.

Josh Cleveland    
Position: Elementary Guidance, junior high football, junior high girls’ basketball
Age: 29
Hometown: Montrose
Education: Montrose High School, Dakota Wesleyan University
Experience: DWU admissions counselor
Family: Wife, Suzie
What are you most looking forward to in the Flandreau school system? I look forward to developing relationships with the students, their families, and the rest of my colleagues at the Flandreau School District.
What is your top goal for the school year? I want to be able to look back on the year and know that I made an impact on the K-4 students.
What one project will showcase your best effort this year? The creation and execution of the guidance curriculum is something I’m extremely excited about.
What interesting hobbies or background will you bring to your position? I am a self-proclaimed fisherman and an avid sports fan. I also love watching the Food Network so I have been known to bring goodies to work from time to time.
Why did you choose education as a career? First and foremost, having the opportunity to positively mold youth into learners and leaders is something that is beyond rewarding. Lastly, the relationships built with everyone are truly priceless.

Alycia Colvin
Position: Middle school special education
Age: 23
Hometown: Flandreau
Education: Flandreau High School, University of South Dakota
Family: Husband, Dorian Colvin; parents, Mark Rose and Jeannie Castillo
What are you most looking forward to in the Flandreau school system? I am looking forward to getting to meet the students that attend Flandreau and figuring out different ways to help them learn concepts that may be difficult for them.
What is your top goal for the school year? My top goal for this school year is to find different ways to teach a concept that will help students learn and understand it better.
What interesting hobbies or background will you bring to your position? I really enjoy reading and doing crafts. If I can incorporate those two aspects into any of my lessons then I will because doing crafts and reading get the students to think creatively.
Why did you choose education as a career? I choose education as a career because I love working with kids and watching them make progress and learn new concepts.

Laura Drietz
Position: Elementary art and library
Age: 44
Hometown: Belview, Minn.
Education: Belview Public School, BDRSH (Now Renville Co. West), South Dakota State University
Experience: Flandreau Public School, Colman-Egan and Baltic, Mickelson Middle School, St. Mary’s Catholic School.
Family: Husband, Thad; daughters, Caitlyn and Erin; sons, James and Matthew; grandson, Nikola; and parents, Rich and Linda Sullivan
What are you most looking forward to in the Flandreau school system? Being able to teach two areas I love in my adopted hometown and not having to drive very far on icy roads in the winter.
What is your top goal for the school year? To get kids to try new things in both art and reading.
What one project will showcase your best effort this year? There will be “magic tickets” to be found in the library, to encourage kids to try new things, learn about new authors, and explore areas of the library they may not have looked at lately. I also have many art projects I am excited to try.
What interesting hobbies or background will you bring to your position? I have always loved to read, had amazing teachers work hard to teach me to read before I even started school. I hope to find something that every student will enjoy reading and help them continue to improve their skills and find new adventures through reading. In art, my favorite area is clay, and I hope to at least do a few projects with the kids with that. I also love to paint and draw, and probably will even get out my guitar to play some fun art songs with them too. I love using technology too, already have a lot of fun things to show the kids.

Why did you choose education as a career? I had amazing teachers growing up, as well as having many teachers in my family and as close friends.  As long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be a teacher. My last two years of high school, I finally was able to take art classes when my school consolidated with a larger one. Did not take me long to decide I wanted to teach art.  I am so glad I made that choice, art is such a dynamic subject area, I can always find new things to teach, as well as traditional techniques and history.

Debby Hopkins
Position: High school chemistry and physics
Age:  54
Hometown:  Sioux Falls
Education:  Washington High School, South Dakota State University
Experience: Artesian Letcher High School, Tri-Valley High School, Tripp-Delmont High School, Bison High School
Family: Son, Aaron Hopkins, and daughter-in-law, Elizabeth
What are you most looking forward to in the Flandreau school system? My father grew up in Flandreau so I made many trips here to visit my grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins when I was growing up.  I am looking forward to getting to know the community much better now by being a part of it.
What is your top goal for the school year? My main goal is that by the end of the year, every student in my classes knows the importance of chemistry and physics in everyday life.  Chemistry and physics are not just high school courses; they are everywhere around us.  They have had a tremendous impact on history and continue to impact our lives every day.  With a solid understanding of the main concepts of chemistry and physics and the critical thinking skills they will practice, I hope to prepare my students to be successful with whatever their future holds.
What one project will showcase your best effort this year? My students will do many projects this year, but one of my favorites in the “Molecule of the Week” in which I spend a few minutes teaching the students all I can about a single molecule.  Information about its discovery, uses, structure and importance are included.  I try to focus on molecules that we have mentioned in class, have been in the news, or are connected to events in nature. In the fall semester, I choose the molecules each week, but in the spring semester, as a homework assignment, students take turns researching and presenting a molecule of their choice.
What interesting hobbies or background will you bring to your position? I have many interests, including quilting, baking, reading, scrapbooking, remodeling, Civil War reenacting, hiking, traveling and theater.  Although my hobbies do not directly relate to my teaching of chemistry and physics, I believe they do make me a more well-rounded person and sometimes provide me with many real-life science experiences to talk about in my classes.
Why did you choose education as a career? I chose education as a career after my son started school. The joy of helping him learn new things motivated me to return to college for my teacher preparation courses so that I could use my science degree to teach.

Brittany Hutt
Position: Second grade teacher, junior high volleyball coach
Age: 28
Hometown: Estelline
Education: Estelline High School, 2008; South Dakota State University, 2017.
Experience: Teaching assistant at LifeScape (formerly Children’s Care) in Sioux Falls for five years; student taught and was a long-term sub in Brandon for second grade last year.
What are you most looking forward to in the Flandreau school system? I am very excited about learning more about the Flandreau school district and community throughout this upcoming school year. Everyone has been so welcoming and helpful. I am from a smaller community originally so I am thrilled to be part of one for my first year of teaching. I am very fond of the ability to really personalize what I am teaching with smaller class sizes and individualized curriculum.
What is your top goal for the school year? My top goal this year is to ensure that every student that enters my room feels valued, respected, and excited to learn. It is extremely important for me to be able to build a community of trust and respect in my classroom so that I can encourage my students to be the best version of themselves both in and out of school.  
What one project will showcase your best effort this year? I don’t know that I can pick just one project that will show my best effort. I love doing projects, so if I had to choose, the top two projects I am most excited about implementing are the monthly family STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) projects I will be incorporating in my classroom for my students. I am also very excited to have pen pals for my students with other second graders from Arizona. It is so eye-opening for them to learn about other students who come from different parts of the United States.
What interesting hobbies or background will you bring to your position? I love plants, listening to music and playing volleyball. I incorporate a lot of music and singing into my curriculum and my classroom is themed around plants. My students will be responsible for taking care of our plants during the school year so I am excited to teach them that responsibility and hopefully when we do our science unit on plants they will flourish.
Why did you choose education as a career? I chose education as a career because I believe it is important to be able to instill a love for knowledge, exploration and reading in each of my students. I have had some really great teachers growing up that made me really enjoy being at school and learning all of the things I know now. I am eager to be able to make my students feel the same way and encourage them to never stop exploring the world around them.

Kari Lena-Helling
Position:  Middle school/high school student support and guidance
Age:  26
Hometown:  Sioux Falls
Education:  West Central High School, University of Sioux Falls (B.A. Communication Studies and Theatre), and South Dakota State University (M.S. Counseling and Human Development, Specializing in School Counseling)
Experience:  USF admissions counselor
Family: Marrying Josh Helling in November, two cats, Chico and Jasper.
What are you most looking forward to in the Flandreau school system? Something that really attracted me to the Flandreau School District is its mission statement: “Empowering all students to become learners and leaders in a diverse and dynamic world.”  I’m really looking forward to getting to know the personalities and strengths of the Flandreau students and encouraging them to live out this mission.
What is your top goal for the school year? My top goal for this year is to build relationships within the Flandreau school community.  I believe that I can best serve our students through partnering with them and with those who care about them.
What one project will showcase your best effort this year? My efforts this year will be towards implementing preventative programming that will empower students to make informed choices.  Two programs that are coming to our school have been funded by grants awarded to SDSU’s Counseling and Human Development Department.  “This is (Not) About Drugs” is a youth opioid misuse prevention program and “Step Up” is a social emotional learning program.
What interesting hobbies or background will you bring to your position? My hobbies/background include:  theater, improv, student council, oral interpretation, choir, hot yoga, spin class and eating lots of nachos.
Why did you choose education as a career? I chose school counseling because being involved in education will allow me to interact with students during a time when they are really developing their passions and perspectives of themselves and the world around them.

Samantha Luze
Position: Elementary special education
Age: 26
Hometown: Egan
Education: Colman-Egan High School and Dakota State University
Experience: Valiant Living, Learn Create Build Academy, Tri-Valley Elementary, and Dell Rapids Elementary
Family: Tom and Cheryl Luze
What are you most looking forward to in the Flandreau school system? I am looking forward to being back in the area I grew up in.
What is your top goal for the school year? I want to establish positive relationships with my students and with the other staff.
What one project will showcase your best effort this year? We will be working hard on our reading strategies this year.
What interesting hobbies or background will you bring to your position? I enjoy hiking, football (Go Vikings), playing video games and watching documentaries.
Why did you choose education as a career? I really enjoy seeing students have “light bulb” moments and the challenges that come with education. It is never boring.

Jenna Sorsen
Position: English Language Learner teacher, seventh grade volleyball coach    
Age: 24
Hometown: Plankinton
Education: Plankinton High School and Dakota State University, elementary education degree.
Experience: Iroquois School District as a Title I/Preschool Teacher, one year.
Family: I come from a large family of six children, with plenty of nieces and nephews running around.
What are you most looking forward to in the Flandreau school system? I am most looking forward to working closely with English learners to provide them with an enriching and real-world English learning experience.
What is your top goal for the school year?  To always keep challenging myself to become a better teacher through seeking ways to learn more about the needs of English learners and cultivating positive student relationships.
What one project will showcase your best effort this year? It will be an ongoing project, but I will be completing college courses throughout the year for my ELL certification.
What interesting hobbies or background will you bring to your position? I am passionate about kayaking and photography.
Why did you choose education as a career? “Every child deserves a champion – an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.”

Adriane Voisin
Position:  Speech-Language Pathologist
Hometown: Raised in the Black Hills
Education: Rapid City Central High School; bachelor’s of science from the University of South Dakota; master’s degree from the University of South Dakota
Experience: Avera Sacred Heart Hospital (Acute Care, Inpatient & Outpatient Care); Yankton School District; St. Paul School District
Family: Husband, Alex, and son, Leo
What are you most looking forward to in the Flandreau school system? I am most looking forward to meeting my new students and helping them improve their speech and language skills.
What is your top goal for the school year? I will wait to form a specific goal or project until I get to know what needs my students have and what gaps or needs our speech therapy program may have since there are already two very talented members of the speech therapy team in place. I want to give what is needed to the students and team rather than force my own ideas upon a new situation. However, in general, I most want to help our students improve their speech skills faster and minimize their time spent outside of the classroom. For example, I introduced a well-established program called “5 Minute Kids” to the Yankton School District several years ago and saw how well the program worked at reducing the amount of time students spent out of the classroom while helping them to meet their speech goals faster. I would like to continue that program here if it is not already in place.
What interesting hobbies or background will you bring to your position? I have worked and lived abroad (Poland and England for several years). As a result, I have an appreciation for what it feels like to be a foreigner and how difficult it can be when you are unable to speak the native language of a country. It makes little daily events like going shopping for groceries very intimidating when you first must rehearse the words you need to say and how you ought to pronounce them. This experience helps me to be sensitive to the speech and language needs of our students who are English Language Learners.
Why did you choose education as a career? I chose speech therapy as a career after I had spent two years teaching English as a foreign language in Poland. Instructing non-native speakers of English in accent modification and conversational speech skills related closely to the type of work therapists get to do with students.