Big year for having babies, changing names
Big year for having babies, changing names
Multiple staff members have recently had or will soon have children.
“Who are these people teaching my classes?” Many students will be wondering that this year, as a number of teachers are on leave or have changed their names.
Second year English teacher Karli Shields has changed her last name to Karli Meyer due to getting married in August of this year. “Half the kids still call me Shields,” Meyers said.
English teacher Hilary Reed changed her last name to Hay due to getting married back in February. “I took my husband’s last name to affirm my transgender husband’s identity, which is often denied,” said Hay.
English teacher Katie Peters changed her last name back to Manwell after getting divorced in August. “It was the right move to make,” said Manwell. “If a relationship is toxic you have to leave.”
Childhood Education and Food Science teacher Raluca Dinca has changed her last name to Cook, and science teacher Stacey Barber got married in June and now goes by Beck.
Multiple staff members have recently had or will soon have children. North Building head custodian Kert Keller had a daughter born Sept. 19. Keller is on leave until Oct. 24, and then from Jan. 6 to Feb. 24.
English teacher Julia Toscano is on maternity leave until Jan. 17th. Her substitute is Jade Eichmiller, who was Hay’s student teacher last year.
Grant coordinator and link crew coordinator AnneMarie Montoya Mira had a child this summer and her current substitute teacher is English teacher Brooke Hunter while she is out for the rest of first semester. The substitute temporarily replacing Hunter’s role as English teacher is Larry Tew, a former DDHS English teacher from 1988 to 2005, principal at Ron Russell Middle School for 16 years, and father of P.E teacher Nathan Tew.
Head dance team coach Lucia Garcia will be going on maternity leave from October to March, but will return in time for spring tryouts for next year’s team.
Other teachers going on leave soon are Math teacher Carli Halligan, who leaves on Oct. 19th and will return Apr. 11; P.E Teachers Tyler and Chelsea Maes, who will both be taking leave this year, after the birth of their third baby boy, Baker Odell; Raluca Cook, who is due Oct. 5 and will return at the start of second semester; and Spanish teacher Kyle Potter, whose child is expected to be born in late January and plans to leave for a few weeks but leave for longer in the fall of next year.
English teacher Michael Theofelis is going on leave on Oct. 16 and returns on Jan. 21, but he will go back on leave for the rest of the year after spring break. Theofelis’s substitute is to be social studies teacher Shannon Bushman’s former student teacher, Toussaint Perrault.
The possible names Theofelis and his wife are considering are Nora, Margo, and Clara. “I’m glad to not have to go to work,” Theofelis said.