Among the many changes to the school this year, some of the biggest are those within the math department.

With the exit of Angie Daughtrey and Jerry Schumacher and the arrival of Danielle Havekost and Nolan Barry, many teachers have different classes this year. 

Havekost said she wanted freshman classes, as she previously taught middle school in Lincoln. She currently teaches Algebra I and Geometry. 

Since many teachers teach similar classes, they make sure to keep their curriculum up to date. 

“The other two freshman geometry teachers are algebra and geometry teachers,” Havekost said. “They have shared their plans with me. And then we kind of go through and figure out what we want to keep from what they’ve done in years past, and what we still want to use.” 

This year, Colleen Veys has completely shifted all of her classes, going from primarily freshmen classes to more advanced classes such as Pre-Calculus and Calculus AB. 

Being the only one who teaches both of these isn’t normal. Usually there’s many different teachers who have the same classes who can confer and plan together. Having limited staff who could teach calculus courses for college credit makes Jacob Eitzen and Veys teaching both calc classes the only option.

“If you want to teach it for dual enrollment credit, you have to have 18 plus hours in math-specific grad classes,” Veys says.

Adjusting to new classes is one thing for students, but something completely different on the teaching end of things. Editing plans and figuring out the right approach is essential. 

Veys said she makes sure to combine the old with the new. 

“I use the previous teachers’ materials, and I make them fit my teaching style,” Veys said. “And then I kind of just go from there, cut things that don’t make sense in terms of what I’m teaching.”