James CampbellK-12 Level II special education
Originally from Mount Vernon, Campbell lives just south of Lisbon
Education: Graduated from Mount Vernon in 1982, joined the military right out of high school and served/educated 21 years in the United States Navy. Upon completing my military service, I received an associates degree in liberal arts from Kirkwood, then went on to earn my bachelor’s at Mount Mercy University, with degrees in education, history and all social sciences. Lastly, I continued at Mount Mercy University to earn a master’s degree in special education with a concentration in behavior.
Family: Married to Deanna Campbell. We have the “Brady Bunch” type of family. We have a total of five children (three daughters and two sons). Our oldest daughter lives in Central City, our youngest son lives in Fairfax, our second oldest daughter lives in Clinton. Our oldest son lives in California and our youngest daughter is in the Air Force, stationed out in Maryland. We have one 14-year-old granddaughter.
What are some of your favorite activities outside of the classroom?
I believe that my faith, family and the love of our country dominate my life. We spend most of our free time with family and church events. I love the outdoors (camping, hunting, fishing and working on our small hobby farm). I am an active member of the local American Legion.
Previous teaching experience? 10 years as a master training specialist in the United States Navy and 12 years as a behavior program teacher at Linn-Mar Community School.
What do you love most about teaching? I feel as though I have a front row seat to the greatest show on Earth; guiding the young men and women I have the privilege of teaching and watching them grow into the best men and women they are able to become.
What teacher influenced you growing up and what did you learn from them?
My high school history teacher at Mount Vernon. His name is Chuck Sillman. He taught me how to learn by making subjects relevant and interesting.
Kirk Wischmeyer High School CTE Industrial Technology.
Wischmeyer grew up in Cedar Rapids and lives in Mount Vernon.
Education: I graduated from Jefferson High School and then earned a degree in construction engineering from Iowa State University.
Family: Wife – Jenna, three daughters – Ella (sophomore at Iowa State), Lillian (sophomore at Mount Vernon High School), and Lucy (seventh grade at Mount Vernon Middle School).
What are some of your favorite activities outside of the classroom?
I enjoy riding one of my bikes, I love mountain biking, and started riding lots of gravels on a gravel bike.
My daughters are also involved in a lot of different sports, so I watch them a lot. I also enjoy spending time with my wife hiking and traveling.
Previous teaching experience?
I previously taught industrial technology at Springville High School and Central City High School.
What do you love most about teaching?
My favorite part of teaching is connecting with students and sharing real world experiences with them to help them grow and learn.
What teacher influenced you growing up and what did you learn from them?
My favorite teaching influences come from collaborating with other teachers in the district. There is so much to learn by listening to them and watching them work.
Julie MashekSpecial education junior high/high school
Mashek is originally from Muscatine and now lives in Cedar Rapids
Education: Muscatine High School and Western Illinois University.
Family: Aaron Hull, fiancé, daughter Madison (junior at the university of Iowa majoring in clinical therapy), son Max (sophomore at Buena Vista University majoring in education), and daughter Mallory (first-year student at Arizona State University majoring in business).
What are some of your favorite activities outside of the classroom? Being outside doing activities, hikes, exercising and sports
Previous teaching experience?
Resource teacher at Muscatine High School (five years), resource teacher at Louisa-Muscatine Elementary 12 years and junior high six years and Louisa-Muscatine assistant softball coach for seven years.
What do you love most about teaching? What I love about teaching is being able to work with students on a daily basis. Gaining the trust with students and creating a positive environment allows for creativity and growth. Having fun teaching with co-workers and students achieving success in the classroom is what it’s all about.
What teacher influenced you growing up and what did you learn from them?
Mr. Schuur, my softball coach, instilled work ethic and values that developed who I am as an individual. These life skills have helped me achieve many goals and made me a better person. He developed life lasting relationships with all of his players.
Christina MeierottoSecondary school counselor
Meierotto is originally from Cedar Rapids and now lives in North Liberty
Education: High school in Cedar Rapids Kennedy, college at University of Iowa for bachelor or science in psychology and master of arts in school counseling.
Family: My husband Ed and I have two kids. Our son, Kade, is 20 and lives in Cedar Rapids, and our daughter, Alice, is 2. We also rescue animals, so we have two big dogs and two cats.
What are some of your favorite activities outside of the classroom?
Spending time with family an friends, outdoor activities like hiking and camping and traveling whenever we can.
Previous teaching experience?
I was the secondary school counselor at Louisa-Muscatine for four years.
What do you love most about teaching? I love the opportunity to build relationships with student and help them wherever they may be on the path of their lives.
What teacher influenced you growing up and what did you learn from them?
I was very lucky to have had many incredible teachers throughout my life, which makes it difficult to name just one. If I go back almost to the beginning, it would be my second-grade teacher Ms. Osborn. I was kind of a naughty kid in lower elementary school, but she always made me feel important and made sure that I knew she cared about me even when I was being naughty.
Kennedy DightonFourth grade
Dighton is originally from and still lives in Cedar Rapids.
Education: Graduated from Cedar Rapids Jefferson High School in 2017, graduated from the University of Northern Iowa in May 2021 with a bachelor of arts in elementary education.
Family: My parents and younger brother still live in Cedar Rapids, as my brother is currently a junior at Jefferson High School. I also have a miniature golden poodle named Lucy.
What are some of your favorite activities outside of the classroom?
In my free time, I enjoy watching, coaching and playing sports. I also enjoy spending time with friends and family as well as travelling.
Previous teaching experience?
Graduated from college in May 2021. This is my first official teaching job.
What do you love most about teaching?
My favorite part of teaching is the relationships I get to build with all the kids. All students are unique in their own way, which makes everyday exciting.
What teacher influenced you growing up and what did you learn from them?
One teacher that really influenced me as a child was my third-grade teacher Mr. Stone. Mr. Stone was a big relationship builder as he really took the time to get to know all students. I remember this sticking out to me as a child as he would often ask how my basketball or softball tournaments went over the weekend which showed me that he was genuinely interested in his students’ lives outside of the classroom.
Brittany LarsenFour-year-old preschool (AM/PM)
Originally from Lamoni, Larson lives in Independence
Education: I graduated from high school in Independence. I received my liberal arts degree from Kirkwood Community College. I graduated from UNI in the fall of 2020 with a degree in early childhood education and an endorsement in special education.
Family: I have two sons. Wyatt is 3 and Brock is 7 months old. My parents and two sisters live in the Independence area.
What are some of your favorite activities outside of the classroom?
Sports, crafts/do-it-yourself activities, fishing, hunting, kayaking and spending time with family and friends.
Previous teaching experience?
This will be my first year having my own classroom. I student taught in preschool and second grade in Laporte City. I also substitute taught there for a semester.
What do you love most about teaching?
I love building meaningful relationships with my students and watching them grow and develop their skills throughout the school year.
What teacher influenced you growing up and what did you learn from them?
I had many wonderful teachers growing up. My favorite teacher would have to have been my preschool teacher Mrs. E. She taught me for two years and I will always remember the energy and passion she had when teaching myself and my classmates.

Gallery • 5 Photos

SYSTEM

Kirk Wischmeyer