I'm your 1st Grade Teacher!

Hi! My name is Cassie Leiby. I am so excited to be your teacher this year! Here are some things you should know about me. I live in Colby with my husband Nathan, our children Evelyn and Lachlan, and our dog Leo.

My husband Nathan works on his parent’s dairy farm in Dorchester, WI. Evelyn is going to be turning 8 in September and loves books, softball, playing with friends, music, princesses, and chocolate. She will be starting 2nd Grade at MAES this year! Lachlan is 4 years old. He is very funny and loves all things farming like tractors, trucks, cows, boats, and monkeys. He is like a little sponge and is always learning new things. Lachlan will be starting 4K at MAES this year! Our dog Leo spends his days going on walks and playing with Evie and Lachlan.

In my spare time, I love to spend time with my family and closest friends. This will be my 11th year teaching at Marathon Area Elementary School and my fifth year working for Open Up Resources as a Community Coach specializing in EL Education K-5 ELA Curriculum. I help teachers nationwide learn how to best implement the curriculum we use in our classroom.

We are going to have an absolute BLAST as we go through this new school year together!

My Philosophy on Education

I strive to have my students to become leaders of their own learning and to see the purpose, or the "why" in what they are learning. I feel the most fulfilled when I witness my students hit that "ah-ha" moment, where they not only begin to make connections to the content that I am teaching, but where they also begin to believe in their own ability to be successful. I live for these "ah-ha moments!"

As I reflect on my educational upbringing, I viewed school as my safe haven, a place where I felt supported to make mistakes, ask questions, fail, and also succeed. Now as an educator, I strive to create an environment where my students feel safe, supported, cared for, and loved, and as a parent, I seek out these same opportunities for my own children.

I firmly believe that in my career as an educator, I need to possess a multitude of skills to not merely focus on the academic wellbeing of my students, but also the mental, social, emotional, and physical wellbeing of the children coming into my classroom on a daily basis. I believe that it is critical to teach my students that all needs are not equal, so when I have moments where my students are coming into the classroom stressed about things at home, or hungry because they missed breakfast, I am able to create a setting where students feel comfortable enough to become an advocate for themselves and share their needs. The most important skill I could ever possess in my “teacher tool kit,” is the skill of truly knowing my students, their backgrounds, their home lives, their struggles, their strengths, their needs, and their desires. Truly knowing a student is done by creating strong relationships with that child in a way that they feel seen, accepted, and cared for.

I believe that all students have the ability to demonstrate true success once they are given an environment in which they have the ability to grapple with concepts, make mistakes, fail, and have meaningful discussions with their peers. I strongly believe that students will learn and retain more information by “doing” rather than by “listening."

I aspire to create authentic learning experiences through play and exploration in the classroom. I believe this creates that "spark," the true joy that students will remember growing up.

One of my greatest joys is when I have previous students come back to my classroom to visit, say hi, or tell me their favorite memory they had in my class. I tell my students that once they are in my room, they will always have someone rooting for them to do well, and I make it a priority to continue fostering these relationships as they continue their education. I desire to make my room feel like a home away from home for all children.

Credentials:

These past few years, I have been busy facilitating professional learning monthly webinars and yearly seminars for educators nationwide in Atlanta, Georgia, Asheville, North Carolina, as well as Kansas City, Missouri focusing on teaching educators more about the EL Education K-5 ELA Curriculum. Educators from across the nation attended these HIVE Seminars hosted by Open Up Resources. I learned a lot more about the curriculum we use at MAES and it was a huge professional learning opportunity for me as an educator. It continues to push me as an educator and it allows me to continue learning how best to teach today's children.

In October of 2023, I had the opportunity to author an article titled, "What Would Crew Do?" published with EL Education focusing on the topic of utilizing banned books in the classrooms.

In December of 2023, I was selected to attend the EL Education National Conference in Denver, Colorado as an "ELfluencer." I attended a 5 day educational conference where I met, learned from, and worked alongside some of the top educators from around the country such as Ron Berger (Author, and founder of EL Education), Jean Hurst (creator and author of EL Education's Skills Block), and Elena Aguilar (Author, Educational Coach, Podcaster and CEO of Bright Morning) just to name a few.

Prior to attending the EL National Conference in December, I was contacted by Ron Berger to submit some of our student's work to become apart of EL's Models of Excellence. In March 2024, our work was approved and has since been shared Nationwide both virtually as well as at several conferences.

In 2022, I attended a 5 - day Summer Academy focusing on the Science of Reading, which I was able to bring back to our educators at MAES as well as directly applying my learning back into my 1st grade classroom. I strive to bring children at MAES a strong research based education.

In May of 2015, I graduated from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire with a Bachelor's of Science in Elementary Education with a minor in Social Studies. I am certified to teach grades 1st - 8th Grade.

Prior to obtaining my Bachelor’s Degree, I also attended UW-Marshfield Wood County where I obtained my Associates Degree.

My Favorite Things:

Birthday: November 2
Food: Tacos
Movie: Raya and the Last Dragon
Book: Junie B. Jones
Color: Pink & Gold, anything glittery
Drink: Coffee, Water, Coke
Season: Summer
Sports: Football (Go Pack Go!)
Animal: Birds
TV Show: F.R.I.E.N.D.S.
Place: Up North on the lake
Store: Target, TJ Maxx, Amazon, Hobby Lobby
Dessert: Ice Cream
Sweet or Salty?: Salty! Chips & Dip
Restaurant: Mexican Restaurants
Flower: Lavender, Lilac, Peony
School Supply: Colorful pens
Hobbies: Reading, "chicken tending," cooking, gardening, bird watching, kayaking, going on walks, and spending time with family

715.443.2538

Ext. 1138

Class Code:
PDZ6Y

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