Introducing the two new teachers on the Rushford-Peterson School staff this year – Kendra Vix is teaching middle school and high school, and David Jewison is teaching sixth and eighth grade science, math/reading enrichment, and a variety of exploratory classes, such as: finance, STEM, typing capstone and study skills.
Kendra Vix graduated from Rushford-Peterson in 2014. She received her Bachelor of Elementary Education from the University of Northern Iowa and her Master’s in Literacy Education from Morningside University. Previously, Vix taught elementary special education in Waukon, Iowa, and middle school special education in Manchester, Iowa.
As long as Kendra can remember, she has always wanted to be an educator. She commented, “There was never an ‘ah-ha’ moment for me, it just felt like something I was made to do!”
With a passion for helping students advocate for themselves and their learning styles, Vix naturally chose special education. She enjoys getting to work with students and their families for a few years in a row. Vix finds it “extremely rewarding” to see their growth over time and form trusting relationships with the students.
Outside of school, Kendra enjoys spending time with her family. She and her husband have two little girls, Layni (3), and Letti (2) and a 5-year-old black Lab named Oaklee. Kendra also enjoys running, reading, traveling, and playing and watching sports. The Vixes live in Rushford where they are remodeling the home they purchased.
After spending a fun summer with her girls, Vix sees her biggest challenge this year to be getting back into “finding a healthy balance of being an educator, coach and working mom.” She admits it’s hard for her to be away from her little girls during the day.
According to Vix, she is most looking forward to being part of a school district and community that truly wants what is best for the students. She considers the fact that she gets to see her nieces, nephews and daughters during the school day an added bonus!
Vix’s goal for the year is to work toward “developing successful co-teaching partnerships with middle school staff so we, as a team, can best support our shared students in all school settings.” She also hopes to create “a classroom environment where all learners feel safe, supported, and valued.”
In addition to her teaching assignment, Vix has taken on coaching duties; she is the Rushford-Peterson seventh grade volleyball coach.
David Jewison may be new to Rushford-Peterson, but he certainly is not new to teaching. Jewison is a veteran teacher, having taught and coached at Cotter Schools for the past 24 years.
Jewison has always enjoyed math, science, engineering, and programming. When he realized he really wanted to help students improve their skills and abilities, teaching those subjects was a natural fit. He attended Winona State for his undergraduate work, and went to St. Mary’s for his master’s degree.
David and his wife Ellen have six children – Lauren (tenth grade), William (eighth grade), Claire (sixth grade), Kate (fourth grade), Cora (second grade), and Sam (preschool). The Jewison family lives at Witoka, Minn.
David enjoys building, tinkering in his shed, home improvement projects, farming, playing games, reading and coaching in his free time.
When asked about his biggest challenge this year, Jewison noted he was “almost past the first hurdle of learning all the processes and procedures in a new system.” He now is trying to learn how he can best support each of his students.
Jewison’s goals for this year are to “help as many students as possible feel more confident, develop a stronger curiosity and continue on their journey of bettering themselves.”
In closing, Jewison commented that he felt the overall environment of Rushford-Peterson has been “very positive and supportive.” He thanked everyone for being so helpful and welcoming and declared that the teachers, administration, support staff and community members have all been very positive his first few months. He commented, “The Jewison family truly appreciates your support.”
It sounds like the feeling is mutual; R-P appreciates having David Jewison and his family join the R-P community!
Jewison seems a perfect fit for his rather unique teaching assignment of science, math/reading enrichment, and a variety of exploratory classes such as: finance, STEM, typing capstone and study skills.
Welcome to both Kendra Vix and David Jewison!
Leave a Reply