Teacher Feature: Samantha Sechrest

Samantha Sechrest joins the Lincoln Public Schools for her first year as a lead teacher this year and is teaching high school English. Her high school classes cover novel studies and reading competency.

Sechrest is also teaching a combo class for 7th and 8th graders which mainly concentrates on reading and writing, including handwriting. The curriculum for English students includes comparing differences between video and books, so she said she's including that in her classes, as well.

"My classes are mainly run through discussions. That part is really interesting," said Sechrest, who was a teacher's aide for preschool in Great Falls before moving to Lincoln. "I do like just being able to converse with the kids."

"Great Falls was amazing, but it wasn't where we wanted to be forever," said Sechrest who said her husband wanted to be closer to the mountains.

"The fact that it's my first year teaching is really exciting," said Sechrest, who added that while she waited to get into the class room and teaching, "the summer went so slow."

Sechrest is looking forward to bringing what she learned working with preschoolers to her teaching with high school students, particularly the importance of fun. "That's something that's lost a lot in higher grades," she said. "I'm excited about bringing some fun back to the grades I teach, making it more active learning."