Congratulations to our January Employees of the Month!
Kasey Cutsforth from Veneta Elementary School and Jennie Herbert from Elmira Elementary School
Kasey Cutsforth is one of January’s Employees of the Month. In addition to being a first grade teacher at Veneta Elementary, Kasey is also one of our elementary CATCH Champions. As a CATCH Champion, Kasey plans and organizes PE lessons for the school, and spearheads the implementation of the yearly CATCH grant.
Kasey has a long history in the Fern Ridge School District. She attended Veneta Elementary during her grade school years, then went on to Fern Ridge Middle School and graduated from Elmira High School. After high school, she went on to study elementary education at Northwest Christian University. Along with her studies, Kasey also played basketball and softball in college. When the time for student teaching came around, Kasey came back to her roots here at Veneta Elementary and completed her student teaching with her kindergarten teacher, Liz Zegar. When Liz retired after many years in the district, Kasey was hired to replace her. She’s now worked as a teacher here at Veneta Elementary for 11 years. Kasey says that the relationships she has built in our local community are one of the things she loves most about her job.
Kasey is married to another Elmira graduate, Todd, and they have two children, Connor, 6, and Kara, 3. Outside of her time at school, she likes spending time with her family, being outdoors, and participating in sports of all types. She enjoys running and has participated in several half marathons and has even completed one full marathon! Kasey is positive, upbeat, and an incredible asset to the Fern Ridge School District.
Jennie Herbert is also our January Employee of the Month. She has taught second grade at Elmira Elementary for over fourteen years and is a CATCH Champion for Elmira. Many hours have gone into organizing PE equipment and helping to plan activities that are part of the CATCH grant.
Jennie was a student at Elmira Elementary before becoming a teacher, even painting some of the mural that remained on the walls of the old Elmira building close to where she would later teach her own students. Her favorite part of her job is watching students grow throughout the year and seeing the excitement as they surpass their goals, especially in reading. She loves their hugs and how happy they are when they see their work on display in the classroom and around the school. Her students look forward to many special activities in her second grade class but the highlight has to be the annual Sweet Creek Falls hike in the spring.
This year her day includes teaching a classroom of 35 students in all subject areas including music and PE. She serves on several committees including the PTA, Leadership, TAG Grant Writing and Enrichment Club, Assemblies, Family Fun Night and is a Booster Club Member at Elmira High School.
When Jennie is not working hard for her school community you can find her enjoying time with her husband and two sons. Cobyn is a freshman at Elmira High School and Trentyn is a sixth grader at Fern Ridge Middle School. Jennie also loves to camp, work in the garden, ride her horse, raft, bake, run and spend time at the beach.
Jennie enriches the lives of her students every day and is an invaluable asset to Elmira Elementary and the Fern Ridge Community.
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