The School District of Niagara welcomes you to the staff, Mr. Darren Petschar! Darren was born and raised in Iron Mountain, Michigan where he attended Iron Mountain High School. After Mr. Petschar graduated, he went to Northern Michigan University and received a degree in Elementary Education. Darren also has his minor in Math, Science and English Language Arts. Mr. Petschar is married to Sherri Petschar who also works at Niagara as the school counselor. Together, Mr. and Mrs. Petschar have three children, Elizabeth, Owen, and Teagan and two dogs, Loki and Patches. Mr. Petschar teaches the fourth-grade class here at Niagara. When asked why he wanted to teach here, Mr. Petschar said, “Niagara needed a fourth-grade teacher, and I just retired and wanted to try something new.” We then asked Mr. Petschar what he liked about teaching at Niagara so far, he said, “Everyone is nice, and the kids are fun!” In his free time Darren loves to travel, go camping, and he enjoys taking care of his two dogs. When asked how he would describe himself, he replied “Fun!” Welcome to the staff Mr. Petschar, we hope you enjoy working here at Niagara!
|
Robert Madigan is one of the new teachers at the School District of Niagara this year! Previously, he was a teacher at the nearby school, Norway High School, which is where he retired from two years ago. He is our new middle and high school math teacher who teaches pre-algebra, algebra, algebra 2, eighth grade exploratory math, and personal finance. Bob was born and raised in Munising, Michigan. He got his undergrad education at Michigan Tech University, where he majored in applied mathematics and minored in physics. He then received his masters in education a few years later. Mr. Madigan has a wife (Mary Pat), two kids (Mark and Kelly), and two grandkids (Eddie and Jackson). He is also an animal-lover. He has cats, horses, and dogs. When Mr. Madigan retired, he fished, hunted, cut wood, and went to work on large boats in Florida with his brother. “I did everything during my retirement. My wife still works and my kids are gone and working, and, if I'm quite honest, I was getting bored and wanted to come back to work. I wanted to come back and do this (teaching).” In his free time, Robert says, “I coached for years, so I like working with kids… hunting, fishing, and going on the boat. I also volunteer at church a lot. Anything but sit and watch TV.” He describes himself as very organized, caring, compassionate and puts in the time to help the kids out, which makes him a great teacher and a great addition to our staff at the School District of Niagara. Thank you, Mr. Madigan! We look forward to a great year!
|
Welcome to the Niagara School District staff, Mr. Hilding Beaudoin! Mr. Beaudoin is the new high school science teacher and the subjects he teaches include biology, chemistry, and environmental science. He was born in Iron Mountain, Michigan, and he grew up in Kingsford, Michigan, later attending Kingsford High School. After high school, he went to Michigan Tech for his undergrad. He is currently taking online classes for his masters at Drexel and another one at Liberty University. Mr. Beaudoin is married and has two kids (ages 1.5 years and 2 months old). He stated that he came to Niagara because he knows Mr. Burklund personally and has heard good things, so he knew that he would love the district! Mr. Beaudoin loves how great our community and school is. He enjoys listening to audio books whenever he can find free time. “What made me want to become a science teacher is because of the science teachers that helped me in high school,” stated Mr. Beaudoin. We are so glad to have you as a part of our staff, Mr. Hilding Beaudoin!
|
Welcome to the Niagara School district staff, Mr. Michael Adam! Mr. Adam was born in Granite City, Illinois. He grew up in a few different places including southern Illinois and the Upper Peninsula, and he attended high school in Iron Mountain, Michigan. He continued his education at NMU and received education degrees for history, mathematics, and English. He then went on to get 66 graduate credits and his National Board certification. He has been married for 23 years and has 3 kids and 3 grandchildren. He has a yellow lab named Bowie and 3 cats. Mr. Adam now teaches middle and high school mathematics at Niagara. The great community and our great school vibe pulled him in to teach here. So far, he likes a lot of things about the school, but he says, “another new teacher and I were talking about how nice all of the students are. The culture is laidback, supportive, and respectful.” Mike likes learning new things and watching students learn. He is currently trying to learn Spanish and many of his other hobbies consist of working in his garden, doing woodwork, reading, playing instruments, and many other things. Mr. Adam is also rehearsing for an upcoming local theater production. One word he used to describe himself is curious; we can tell he loves to learn! Welcome to the School District of Niagara, Mr. Adam!
|
Welcome to Niagara School District staff, Mr. Philip Buckingham! He is the new middle school social studies teacher in the building. Mr. Buckingham was born and grew up in Ohio. After graduating high school, he went to Ohio Northern University where he earned his Bachelor's degree in Middle Childhood Education. Mr. Buckingham is married, and he has two dogs that are both huskies. When asked why he chose to teach in Niagara, he replied, “ I like the small community, it is a lot like the school that I went to and all of the kids are in one building,” He likes working at Niagara because the class sizes are smaller, and he gets to know each, individual student more. In his freetime, Philip likes to play sports, lift weights, and watch movies with his wife. Mr. Buckingham wanted to be a teacher because he had a lot of influential teachers in the past, and he is interested in coaching one day along with teaching. Thank you, Mr. Buckingham! We are glad to have you here at the School District of Niagara!
|
Welcome to the Niagara School staff, Ms. Tiana Brooks! Ms. Brooks teaches Special Education in grades K-5. She specializes in Cognitive Impairments and Cross-Categorical Behaviors. Ms. Tiana Brooks has an interesting background; she was born in China and adopted by her family when she was three years old. She was then raised in Iron Mountain, Michigan and attended Iron Mountain High School. Ms. Brooks grew up with a brother who was challenged with special needs, which made her want to pursue her dreams of being a Special Education teacher. She says, “He was my biggest inspiration.” She attended Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan where she received her Elementary Education Degree. Ms. Brooks did a long-term substitute teaching position last school year with the Niagara School District. She says, “I fell in love with this school that spring.” Ms. Brooks appreciates how calm and relaxed the staff is . She says they have really helped her adjust to the teaching lifestyle seeing that this is her first year ever teaching. Tiana enjoys spending time with her dog, a double doodle who is very energetic. She also travels to Michigan Tech University every weekend to visit her long-distance boyfriend. Ms. Brooks is a very kind hearted and patient teacher. Her coworkers would describe her as very bubbly and outgoing! She has become a valuable part of the Special Ed program in the short time she has been here . Welcome to the Niagara School Staff, Ms. Brooks! We are looking forward to the greatness you will bring to our school!
|
|
|