What's new
Meet the new teachers for the school year 2005 - 2006 at WS schools
Updates for the school year 2006 - 2007 are coming soon.

Chris Rogers

Written By Sophomore Austin Lovan Mr. Chris Rodgers is one of the many new teachers here at Willow Springs School. He is teaching Citizenship/Geography, Civil War, and he is also the assistant coach of our baseball team. Chris is happily married to his wife, Natalie with which he parents two children named Drew, who is a third grader, and Landon who is in Kindergarten. Mr. Rodgers attended college at College of the Ozarks and also MSU. Mr. Rodgers thinks that Willow Springs is an excellent school district with a supportive community and he is excited to be a part of it. Mr. Rodgers currently has a high expectation for the year. He expects his students as well as himself to have a positive learning experience and he hopes to improve the quality of life with every student he has the opportunity to work with.

Belena Brantley

Written By Senior Abbie Dyck Along with teaching elementary music, Mrs. Brantley adds a new sense of culture to the Willow Springs School System with her experience of living in France. Mrs. Brantley lived in Dieppe, France volunteering at a school for two years. As a result of living in France, Paris is one of her favorite places to vacation. She now lives here with her husband, Anthony and her 8 ½ month old daughter, Aislynn. Mrs. Brantley attended high school in Ava and Eureka and completed her college education at Oakland City University. With her degree, she now is able to teach grades K-4. Mrs. Brantley has been teaching for three years now and her desire is to see that all elementary students succeed in music and in the classroom. She is very impressed with the administration and teachers in this school system. The school would like to welcome Mrs. Brantley as she begins her year teaching in Willow Springs.

Sarah Doss

Written By Junior Tory Waggoner Sarah Doss is one of the many new teachers at Willow Springs Schools. Mrs. Doss graduated from MSU Springfield but also attended several other schools to complete her degree in psychology. She has been married thirteen years to her husband, Rusty. Together they have two children, an eight-year-old son, Andy, and a six-year-old daughter, Kasey. She previously taught Title I Math at Richards School. Mrs. Doss is teaching the new class Jobs for America’s Graduates, more commonly know as JAG. She teaches the class to 11th and 12th graders to help them decide what type of careers they should pursue post high school and to teach them skills in which employers are looking. Her impression of the Willow Springs School District is that “teamwork and responsibility from the staff, as well as, the students is what seems to make this school successful.

Tina Shertz

Written By Senior Kiley Woodring Tina Shertz is the newest addition to the fourth grade teaching staff. She previously taught at Glenwood Elementary for six years. She received her Associates degree from SMSU West Plains and went on to graduate from Southwest Baptist University in Mountain View. Her family includes her husband and two boys, Cale, 10 and Lucas, 5. When asked what her impression was of the Willow Springs School District she replied, “It is very impressive; the staff is helpful and friendly, and students are helpful and well behaved, too.” This year she expects to help her fourth graders learn as much as possible and have fun at the same time

Crystal McGinnis

Written By Senior Courtney Colley Mrs. Crystal McGinnis is one of the twelve new faces at Willow Springs School who is a new first grade teacher. She is an alumnus of Willow Springs Schools. After high school she attended Southwest Missouri State University in West Plains where she obtained her Bachelor’s degree. Crystal is married to Eric McGinnis and has two children: Derek and Kara. Crystal says that her impression of Willow Springs was excellent because she worked here as a paraprofessional last year and she knew what a great school it was. She comments that she has a great group of students and she expects them all to have a successful year. The staff wishes Mrs. McGinnis a wonderful first year.

Jeff Gooch

Written By Senior Casey McElyea Jeff Gooch is one of the many new additions to the staff at Willow Springs. His duties include teaching fifth, seventh, eighth, and ninth grade P.E., seventh and eighth grade homework assistant, assistant coach for the high school football team, and coaching ninth grade basketball. He attended the University of Central Arkansas and also completed one year of student teaching and coaching. His impression of the Willow Springs School District was that everyone was very welcoming, friendly, and respectful. With it being Coach Gooch’s first year teaching, his expectations for this school year are very high. Specifically, his anticipation is to educate students with the knowledge needed for success in the future. For curiosity’s sake, Jeff’s father, Bill, graduated from WSHS in 1970.

Steve Dunlap

Written By Senior Ashley Smith Welcoming a new member to part of the Willow Springs faculty is Mr. Steve Dunlap. Mr. Dunlap is the new Special Education teacher for the 2005-2006 school year. He attended college at SMSU and received a degree in B.S. and M.S. Steve Dunlap is teaching fifth through eighth special education and math and science and ninth grade resource class. He taught Special Education for the previous three years at Fairview R-XI and is starting his fourth year here at Willow. He is also serving as a temporary bus driver. Steve is married to Tressa; he has a daughter Amy, a son- in- law Clark, a stepdaughter Krista, stepson Dylan, and five grandchildren. Steve is the pastor at Blue Buck Mountain Ministries as well. Mr. Dunlap enjoys many hobbies, which include the following: hunting, fishing, four-wheeling, traveling, and hiking. Mr. Dunlap thinks the Willow Springs School district is awesome and wants to do everything in his power to keep it that way. He is looking forward to a great and successful school year. We wish Mr. Dunlap a wonderful year!

Nick Heggemann

Written By Senior Nathan Mersch A new addition to the athletic department and math department is Nick Heggamann who teaches 7th grade Academic Lab, 8th grade Homework Assistance, and high school Geometry and Applied Math. Mr. Haggamann has a wife, Tiffany, and a 5 month old son, Irvin. He attended Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar where he played football. He was a graduate assitant for 2 years at SBU and a full-time assistant for 1 year before coming to WS. This is his first year of teaching. He plans on working hard and teaching character in the classroom. Mr. Heggemann’s impression of the Willow Springs school district is that it is a wonderful place to work.

Beth Ward

Written By Senior Kayla Jones There are many new additions to the Willow Springs School Staff this year, one of which being Mrs. Beth Ward who teaches Middle and High School math. Mrs. Wards family consists of husband Jeff, who works as a paramedic, and two children, Cody age two, and Caleb who is five months old. She attended college at SMSU in Springfield where she received B.S in Spanish Education and M.S in Administration. After College, she went on to teach math and Spanish at Dora High School. This is her 4th year of teaching, and she enjoys going to baseball games and playing with her children. Mrs. Ward feels blessed to be back teaching where she grew up and the alumni is looking forward to a great year.

Chris Lowe

Written By Senior Tyler Cooley An addition to the teaching staff and the new head coach for the varsity bear football team is Chris Lowe who joins us from Waynesville, Missouri. Coach Lowe attended the University of Missouri in Columbia and played college football for the Mizzou Tigers for two years. He has been teaching for a total of seven years at Rolla and Waynesville High Schools. This year he joins the Willow Springs teaching staff as an instructor for the Weight Training class. Coach Lowe is married to wife Judy, and has two sons, Scott and Josh, whom he spends as much time with as possible. Fishing and lifting weights are two hobbies he enjoys during his spare time. Coach Lowe says he expects nothing but hard work from the students at Willow Springs, but adds he doesn't think that that will be a problem. We wish nothing but luck to Coach Lowe at Willow Springs.

Misty Pitts

Written By Beth Pitts Raised on a farm just outside of West Plains. Misty enjoys the great outdoors and going white water rafting. When hearing of Mrs. Welton’s retirement, Misty jumped at the opportunity teaching third grade here at Willow Springs. Misty recently graduated from College of the Ozarks in May. She is currently married to a past graduate of Willow Springs High School, Casey Pitts. When asked what her expectations were for the upcoming year, Misty replied, “I believe I have a great group of students for this school year and that we are all (myself included) going to learn a lot together.” So far Misty has been very impressed with the school district. She thinks the teachers, staff, and students have been very friendly and have made her feel very welcome.

Sherry Owens

Written By Senior Zach Capeder A new year brings new faces to the Willow Springs Faculty. Sherry Owens is not entirely new to the District but this is her first year in the classroom. Last year she implemented the Traveling Learning Center and will be teaching many subjects this year. She will be teaching the Traveling Learning Center, 5th grade Reading Enrichment, 6th grade Reading, and 7th grade Reading Exploratory. Mrs. Owens attended SMSU in West Plains and Springfield and is married to Randy Owens who works for the schools district maintenance department. Also, she has one son Josh Owens, a daughter-in-law Jennifer, and a new grandson named Mason. She says “Willow Springs R-IV is an exciting and progressive school," and feels blessed to be a part of it. Sherry foresees this year to be an unforgettable and exciting one and expects both her students and herself to learn a great deal

New teachers for the year 2004-2005