Get to know the new teachers at Perry Schools

Meet the new teachers as the 2023-24 school year is set to kick off in the Perry Community School District.

Codi Allen

• Position: 7th grade special education

• Year graduated from college: 2023

• Degree: Bachelors in Elementary Education

• Experience: 1st year

• Family: Husband - Dakota; Daughters - Elizabeth (3 years), Adelaide (2 years), Greer (1 month)

• Hobbies: Hanging out with family and friends

• Comments: I’m so excited to be here and teach the next generation.

Caitlin Bennett

• Position: Preschool teacher

• Year graduated from college: 2022 from Iowa State University

• Degree: Early Childhood Special Education

• Experience: I previously taught kindergarten.

• Family: My husband, Kyle; daughter, Khai; and our Siberian Husky, Freya

• Hobbies: Traveling and spending time with my family

• Comments: I look forward to helping your children learn and grow!

Kayla Cook

• Position: English teacher

• Year graduated from college: 2023 from UNI

• Degree: English Teaching

• Experience: Student taught in Dallas-Fort Worth area

• Family: Two older brothers

• Hobbies: Writing, going to coffee shops

Noah Erickson

• Position: HS ELA (English III and IV)

• Year graduated from college: 2020 from University of Iowa

• Degree: English Studies

• Experience: Student teaching/field experience at Solon High School and Boone Middle School

• Family: Single, one brother

• Hobbies: Writing, music, traveling, golfing, video games

• Comments: Looking forward to a safe, happy and healthy first year at Perry!

Emily Fjestad

• Position: 7th grade social studies

• Year graduated from college: 2023 from Iowa State University

• Degree: Bachelors in History

• Family: My parents live in Stillwater and my younger brother will be a freshman at Iowa State this fall

• Hobbies: Golfing, quilting, scrapbooking, reading

• Comments: I have already been warmly welcomed into Perry and am excited to start my career in this community!

Drew Hansen

• Position: Elementary PE

• Year graduated from college: 2019 from University of Northern Iowa

• Degree: Bachelors of Science and Kinesiology

• Experience: 3 years previously at West Bend-Mallard in Northwest Iowa

• Family: Mom and dad, 1 brother, 1 dog named Ted

• Hobbies: Golfing, bowling, coaching baseball (giving lessons and camps), mountain biking

• Comments: I’m very excited to teach with my old classmate at UNI, Luke Kisker, and I’m ready to start a fun journey here!

Elle Helmkamp

• Position: 4 year old preschool

• Year graduated from college: 2016 from Northwestern College

• Degree: Bachelors in Elementary Education

• Experience: 4 years at Guthrie Center; 1 summer in Honduras; 2 years at South Central Calhoun

• Family: Dad - Jeff; Mom - Dawn; Younger brother - Dalton; 3 family dogs

• Hobbies: Running, hiking in mountains, reading, mission trips

Maribel Hernandez

• Position: Spanish teacher (Spanish I and II, Heritage Spanish)

• Year graduated from college: 2018 from Iowa State

• Degree: Foreign Languages and Cultures, 5-12 Education

• Experience: Taught Spanish 2 and 3 in Greene County. This will be my 6th year of teaching.

• Family: I live in Perry. My mom, dad and brother also live in Perry. I have a daughter and I’ve been married for six years.

• Hobbies: I love watching soccer, reading, watching Netflix.

• Comments: I graduated from Perry High in 2010.

Robyn Horak

• Position: 7th grade mathematics teacher

• Year graduated from college: 1998 from University of Nebraska at Omaha

• Degree: BS in Education: Mathematics 5-12, Psychology 5-12, Social Studies K-8

• Experience: At-risk high school math and psychology teacher at Newton CSD; High school mathematics and special education teacher at Panorama CSD

• Family: Husband, Chris; son, Jacob; daughters Allyson and Arielle; dog, Lucy; cats, Monkey and Rindi

• Hobbies: Traveling, cruises, pets, spending time with friends and family

• Comments: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world,” Nelson Mandela. I’m so excited to be a part of Perry CSD.

Sam Kornstad

• Position: 4th grade

• Year graduated from college: 2019 from Cornell College

• Degree: Elementary Education

• Experience: 3 years, 2 at Orient-Hacksburg, 1 at Adel

• Family: One younger sister

• Hobbies: Enjoy watching sports, coaching baseball and football

• Comments: I spent a gap year of teaching playing pro baseball in Idaho.

Sara Koster

• Position: 1st grade teacher

• Year graduated from college: Fall 2022 from South Dakota State University

• Degree: Early Childhood Education with Special Education Degree

• Experience: 1 year student teaching, substitute teaching at Perry Elementary

• Family: Pet cat Dakota

• Hobbies: Crafting, reading, travel and gardening

• Comments: Can’t wait to meet the students and start my career at PCSD

Jordan Kovac

• Position: 6th grade reading

• Year graduated from college: 2023 from Iowa State University

• Degree: Elementary Education, K-6 Reading, K-8 Social Studies

• Experience: Student teaching for 1 year; lead school age teacher at Clubhouse Learning Center

• Family: My cat Willow, 1 older brother, 1 older sister, 4 younger sisters

• Hobbies: Coloring, reading, going on walks, camping, concert-goer

• Comments: Very excited to start my teaching journey with Perry CSD!

Thomas McMullin

• Position: 5th grade

• Year graduated from college: 2020 from Bethany Theological Seminary

• Degree: Masters of Divinity

• Experience: 3 years of pastoral ministry and lots of subbing

• Family: Single but live with my grandparents, I have one sister

• Hobbies: Working on my grandparents farm, watching and playing sports, reading, spending time with family and friends

• Comments: I look forward to a great experience teaching at Perry!

Carlos Preciado

• Position: History high school teacher

• Year graduated from college: 2022 from Iowa State University

• Degree: Bachelors of Science in History and Education

• Experience: In my second year of teacher, first year teaching high school

• Family: Both my parents are Spanish teachers, my sister is in her second year at Iowa State. My partner and I moved here with her cat, Marjorie.

• Hobbies: Reading, writing, movies and games

• Comments: Excited to start and have a fun year!

Lindsey Snakenberg

• Position: Third grade teacher

• Year graduated from college: 2023

• Degree: BA in Elementary Education

• Experience: 1st year

• Family: Mom, dad, step-dad, sisters Kelsey and Riley, a cat named Ella

• Hobbies: Reading, traveling, going to concerts and spending time with friends and family

Amy Theulen

• Position: Elementary EL teacher

• Year graduated from college: 2023 from University of Northern Iowa

• Degree: Bachelors in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

• Experience: This will be my first year teaching!

• Family: I live with my dad, Jack; my mom, Jennifer; and my sister, Megan.

• Hobbies: I enjoy fashion, creative writing and listening to music.

• Comments: I’m excited to begin my career at Perry!

This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Get to know the new teachers at Perry Schools for the 2023-24 school year