After graduating from the University of Washington, Kassie started a career in banking to pay off student loans. Education had always called to her, though, and three years ago she began working as a Special Education Assistant at Rochester Primary. Kassie already has her emergency sub certificate, and now she is on her way to becoming a certificated teacher.
Although relatively new to education, Kassie is already widely respected by her colleagues for her creativity, organization, and perseverance. No matter where a student is on the spectrum of ability, Kassie has a plan for them. She is tenacious about trying every single strategy to help a student reach their full potential. Her research and resourcefulness has already paid off as students she works with routinely develop into confident readers and mathematicians.
As a colleague, Kassie is a prized substitute teacher and respected collaborator. Her confidence in the classroom and ability to step in to help with little warning are rare in one so new to the profession. This year she is also mentoring the new educational assistants and working closely with the general education teachers as the school pilots new language arts materials.
“From the first day she started working in my classroom, Kassie has shown outstanding leadership and professionalism,” says teacher Brittny Zepp. “Kassie sets exceptionally high expectations for her students both behaviorally and academically, and she is continually seeking out opportunities to improve her teaching.”
