Last spring, nine Étude Group teachers were honored for a decade of service to the charter school organization. Étude Group is grateful for the hard work and service of Beckah DeYoung, Drew Fredrichson, Michael Hanlon, Courtney Kissinger, Molly King, Allison McKeone, Kara Pasche, Nicholas Scharenbroch and Dan Stenz.
Molly King
· How are you leaving your mark on the school for future teachers/students/programs?
I have created an accessible dance program for all students. As a dance educator, I believe movement should be available for all bodies. My instruction accommodates my students' learning capabilities and varying strengths. I provide a safe space that empowers non-dancers to take risks and express themselves, stretching their comfort zone. I challenge the dedicated dancers to grow through critical feedback and leadership opportunities. I enable students to explore their body as an instrument of communication and expression through a variety of dance techniques. My course places emphasis on examining the role of dance through the creative process.
· How have 10 years of interactions with students changed you?
I feel like my interactions have been consistent. Students will comment that I am a positive person with high energy and lots of smiles (I would definitely agree) and I feel like that is me, time and time again! I do my best to create an open, positive and welcoming environment to all who enter the dance studio. I want anyone to enter my space and know that they belong there, no matter what!
· What is the very best thing about working with Étude students?
I love how we are a family- the students and staff. At the end of the day, I am with the Étude Schools more than I am with my own family. I am blessed to work in a positive school environment that promotes collaboration, integrity, responsibility, respect and equity! My staff knows me well — they have supported me in so many ways, both in and out of school. I am lucky to be surrounded by that type of love. My students also know me well. We create a space for everyone to get to know each other and within that positive community, we all thrive.
· If you could add anything to the school where you teach, what would it be?
I would love a NEW building where ALL of the Étude Schools can be housed... Always been a dream!!
· What’s been the biggest change in the school since your first year?
My first year, the pilot year for the Étude Schools, consisted of two kindergarten classes and 20-30 juniors and seniors. The kindergarten classes experienced an "arts-infused" curriculum, participating in dance, drama, music and art classes. The juniors and seniors we worked with attended North or South in the mornings, and then attended Étude as a "half-day school" in the afternoons. Students participated in dance, drama, music, creative writing and art classes, and also took a social studies and science class. In the mornings, I taught dance to the kindergarten classes and in the afternoons, I taught dance to the high school students. Now, we are a K-12 school!
Kara Pasche
· What is the very best thing about working with Étude students?
Étude students are curious, always making connections and consistently deepening their understanding of the world. It is fun to teach when I am always learning too!
· How are you leaving your mark on the school for future teachers/students/programs?
In school, math was my weakest subject. I have worked to understand how to engage students in math and support a positive math mindset. I would hope that I am leaving students with a love for a subject that can sometimes be a challenge.
· If you could add anything to the school where you teach, what would it be?
If I could add anything, I would add a new playground at the elementary.
· What’s been the biggest change in the school since your first year?
My first year at Étude Elementary was the first year in the building we share with Pigeon River. The biggest change I have noticed is getting settled into the space here and learning to use the woods backyard in our curriculum.
· How have 10 years of interactions with students changed you?
Interacting with students for 10 years has given me an appreciation for each student's unique contributions to a classroom environment.
Nicholas Scharenbroch
· What’s been the biggest change in the school since your first year?
One of the major changes that I have seen within the school has been the focus. When we first started it, a lot of what we were doing dealt with the arts and the multiple intelligences. It's not to say we still don't do those things, but we have since shifted more into the project-based curriculums and letting kids create and explore more.
· How have 10 years of interactions with students changed you?
Some of the biggest changes have come from how I interact with students. Through the training that we have gone through over these years we have shifted more of the discipline from a teacher-directed classroom to a place where students' voices are heard. When issues arise, it is nice to have students not only voice their concerns, but also come up with solutions to the problems when they arise through meetings and conversations.
· What is the very best thing about working with Étude students?
Some of the best things about working with Étude students is that they are some of the most creative and caring kids that you will ever find. From all the schools that I have been at, Étude certainly has the most welcoming student body. Whether it is within groups or outside at recess, the students at Étude always are showing the care and compassion that we strive to have within our school. The creativity that they are given and then utilized within their project work is certainly awesome to see.
· How are you leaving your mark on the school for future teachers/students/programs?
Hopefully after 10 years I still have enthusiasm for the job. I like to think that my love for the job is still evident in how I teach and interact with the students each day and that hopefully that engages the students within their learning. With that in mind, I like to think that the collaboration I have with my peers also propels our curriculum to one of the most exciting within the district, allowing for more learning opportunities outside the classroom.
· If you could add anything to the school where you teach, what would it be?
I would add more to the playground outside, making it a bit more welcoming and exciting for the students. Right now, we have a pretty generic set of things for students to do while they have their recess; it would be great to think outside the box and allow for other opportunities for cooperative play.
Dan Stenz
Retired at the end of the 2022-23 school year
· What’s been the biggest change in the school since your first year?
The vertical alignment between the three schools, along with the horizontal integrational alignment within each one.
· How have 10 years of interactions with students changed you?
I definitely went through a paradigm shift from "sage on the stage" to that of being an equal partner in the individual learning quests of each student.
· What is the very best thing about working with Étude students?
I've enjoyed their fresh and innovative approaches to the learning activities in which they engage. Seeing their creativity at work and being part of the learning process with them was the most rewarding component of working at Étude.
· How did you leave your mark on the school for future teachers/students/programs?
I'm not quite sure how to answer this. I've typically taken the role of being the one who was there for students to talk with about whatever they needed. I feel the collegiality displayed by the innovative Étude staff shows students how the same mindset when working with peers can produce amazing results. Though I am retiring, I'm thrilled that my wife will have a similar opportunity working in another school district as she finishes her career in a few short years. The Étude staff are near and dear to me, and they will always be a part of me.
Drew Fredrichsen
· What’s been the biggest change in the school since your first year?
I think one of the big changes is how our learning environment intersects with a world of technology. We can now do many things as a learning community that may not have been possible 10 years ago due to innovations in technology and communications. But on the flip side, these innovations have changed how we “connect” with each other in real life. There is a cultural movement where a substantial amount of people’s lives are not being lived in real life with real people. This was not nearly as prevalent when I started teaching. I think people interacting in the same room is where the magic happens! I think it’s creating an educational shift that is so interesting, yet crucial for us to adapt to. (Kids and adults)
· How have 10 years of interactions with students changed you (your teaching strategy, your goals, anything you want)?
I learned a lot about teaching from what I’ve learned from students. I’m certainly a changed person as a result of the people I teach, or rather, the people I learn with. I say “with” because I feel teachers and students should be teaching and learning from each other. Sometimes it’s learning about where they’re coming from intellectually or emotionally that better informs how to teach them. Or sometimes it’s asking questions about what they know or are into that helps bridge an understanding amongst generations. I tell kids rather often, the reason why I come to school is to learn. I’d like to think that we’ve had a lot of moments, memories, quips over the years that I felt we gained an experience. Sometimes I feel it’s those unscripted things, the things you’ll never see in a lesson plan or on a report card, that are things that last.
· What is the very best thing about working with Étude students?
I love that students I’m able to work with are able to have open conversations, expound upon topics, throw ideas against the wall (literally), brainstorm WHAT IFs! I like that their individual ideas that can be shared without judgement. I like brainstorming, questioning and
the opportunity to help to develop new things. Creativity causes us to learn. Creativity is energy. I’d like to think we try to harness, foster and unleash this energy to do some cool stuff.
· How are you leaving your mark on the school for future teachers/students/programs?
I guess I’m trying to make a music culture that’s going to help people learn something about how they fit with the music world. Will they be performers? Concert tenders? Patrons of those who produce musical works? Will they compose? Record? Set up and tear down equipment? Will they be event planners? Flier designers? Instrument techs?
· If you could add anything to the school where you teach, what would it be?
I’d love to have our own dedicated performance area with stage, lights, decor, etc. I think we desperately need it, for so many reasons: exhibitions, concerts, dances, theatre, film, etc. Kids can learn a lot from being in an environment that puts on events that showcase people’s creations and ideas. I guess for me, there’s something about the journey of what it takes to get on a stage and show what you can do. I’d like to think when kids can practice standing on stage, then they can learn how to be on stage. I’ve heard “All the world’s a stage;” maybe Shakespeare’s onto something.
