Creston welcomes new teachers

Editors note: This is the first in a series about new hires in the Creston Community School District.)

Elizabeth Herzberg

Originally from Villisca, Elizabeth Herzberg, will be teaching kindergarten this year for Creston Community School District.

Herzberg graduated Summa Cum Laude from Northwest Missouri Sate University this year with a degree in elementary education and a minor in early childhood education.

She decided to come teach in Creston after an interview with the school where she felt supported.

“I had an amazing interview where I got to connect with my whole grade team,” Herzberg said. “I felt like Creston was going to be able to support me as I start my first year of teaching.”

For her first year of teaching, Herzberg said she is looking forward to making connections with her students and making lasting memories. She is concerned about the changes that may happen throughout the school year.

Herzberg will have family close by as she begins her teaching career with a brother and sister-in-law who both work in Creston.  Her claim to fame in her family is that, at six feet tall, she is the tallest girl.

Aaron Riley

Aaron Riley is adding fifth- through eighth-grade art in Creston to his resume of teaching art at Hubbard Radcliffe Elementary, Mount Ayr High School and Southwestern Community College.

Riley, a graduate of Lenox High School, Southwestern Community College and Iowa Sate University, said looking for “a new challenge” brought him to Creston

Meeting new students tops the list of things Riley is looking forward to this year. “Pandemic challenges” will be a concern as he starts this new venture.

Riley has three daughters, Megan, 10, Savannah, 8, and Alexis, 6, that he is very proud of.

Paul Jordan

Hailing from Viroqua, Wisconsin, Paul Jordan has come to Creston for his first year of teaching as a sixth- and eighth-grade social studies teacher.

Jordan graduated from Kettle Moraine High School in Wisconsin and then Wartburg College in May with a degree in history and education.

With no family in the area, forming long-term relationships in Creston is on Jordan’s mind as he begins his first year of teaching.

"I am looking forward to building relationships with students and the Creston community in the upcoming years," he said.
While Jordan is concerned about his lack of experience in the classroom, he said he learns quickly and adapts easily to new challenges and situations. 
Jordan had a special opportunity last spring to study in Germany focusing on Martin Luther and his life during the Reformation.

Karen Guthrie

Originally from College Springs, Karen Guthrie has come to Creston to join her husband Steve Guthrie, who took over as general manager of Creston Waterworks in 2018.

Karen Guthrie is a veteran teacher of 23 years. For the past year, she has done some substitute teaching in Creston and Orient-Macksburg while becoming more familiar with the area.

She is looking forward to returning to full-time teaching as a middle school language arts teacher in Creston.

“After spending a few days in in-service, I am really looking forward to working with and learning from the staff at the middle school and to avoid the obvious concerns over COVID that we are having to work so hard to navigate in order to return students to school,” Guthrie said. “I’d have to say my biggest worry at this point is learning so many new names as quickly as I can.”

Guthrie graduated from South Page High School and Northwest Missouri State University with a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in English.

Guthrie said she is proud of her children — Chase, a senior at Iowa State University this fall, Anne, who graduated from Creston in 2020 and just started her freshman year at the University of Iowa, and Peyton, a junior at CCHS this year — and the students she has taught over the years.

Her “superpower” is that she can “nearly always come up with a song to match any occasion.”

“I often find it difficult to avoid singing snippets out loud, although my husband can vouch for the fact that my memory for the correct lyrics is not so good,” she said.