Ark Valley News - New teachers, old friends

Christian Ammerman (left) and Melissa Arnold joined the staff at Valley Center Middle School this summer. The 2017 Valley Center High School graduates are teaching English.

New teachers, old friends
By Chris Strunk
Last Updated: August 11, 2022

Their journeys to classrooms at Valley Center Middle School were inspired by teachers.

Now, new Valley Center teachers Melissa Arnold and Christian Ammerman want to inspire their own students.

Arnold and Ammerman, who graduated from Valley Center High School in 2017, returned home to embark on their careers as English teachers this year. Their rooms are next door to each other.

"I had a series of really good teachers growing up and that later formed into a love for English," Ammerman said.

He said former intermediate school math teacher Terry Orr, who is now at the middle school, provided the initial inspiration for him to go into education, and former high school English teacher Jen Bailey helped him decide to pursue language arts.

Arnold said high school English teacher Amanda Leighton and former high school English teacher Cady Jackson were her inspiration.

"I loved them," Arnold said. "They were amazing."

Arnold and Ammerman are two of more than 30 new teachers and administrators in Valley Center as the school year starts Aug. 11.

Arnold, 23, said she originally wanted to go into nursing but quickly discovered it wasn't the right fit. She transferred to Wichita State University to pursue an education degree.

"I've always had really good teachers here in Valley Center," she said. "And I wanted to teach English because that's what I really enjoyed."

Ammerman, 23, was sure about his plans before he left high school.

"English is just always what I was good at," he said. "It was the one subject that I really enjoyed. Getting to do that as a career was something that was really exciting for me."

Ammerman also went to Wichita State University and graduated in 2021. He taught at Andover Middle School for one year before returning to Valley Center.

"For me, it's never been so much the writing portion, but the literature aspect of it, where you get to share that love of reading with a kid and you get to see them fall in love with a book or not fall in love with it and they can explain why they don't like (it)," Ammerman said. "And then kind of reaching that hard-to-reach student through a book is really powerful."

Arnold agreed.

"Seeing them learn to enjoy reading and being in school for that specific reason is what I really love," she said. "And I really just enjoy working with the students, building relationships with them and learning how we can further their education and what it is that they enjoy so that I can fit books into what their interests are."

Ammerman said he is working on a master's degree through Fort Hays State University and wants to become a librarian.

Arnold said she wants to work as an English teacher for "quite a few years" and then pursue a degree in administration.

They both want to stay in the Valley Center school district, and they're happy to be working together.

"I think it's going to be so much fun," Arnold said. "It will be like working with an old friend."

"That's a good way to put that," Ammerman said.

Ammerman and Arnold aren't the only teachers new to the district with strong ties to Valley Center.

Amy Bradley, a pre-kindergarten teacher at Abilene, was born and raised in Valley Center. She spent five years as a kindergarten aide at Abilene.

"I chose Valley because this is an amazing district," she said.

Kirsten Stanhope also grew up in Valley Center and graduated from VCHS in 2019. She will teach first grade at Wheatland.

"Growing up, I always loved my school," Stanhope said.

Betsy Machain is a Valley Center native. After teaching in Wichita for 19 years and traveling much of Central and South America, she returned to Valley Center to teach Spanish at the middle school.

"It is a pleasure to live and work here," Machain said.

Allison Klusener is in a unique position. She will teach in the same school as her father-in-law, Matt Klusener.

Allison Klusener, a 2014 VCHS graduate, taught at Heights High School for four years. She'll begin teaching English at VCHS this fall.

"Valley is how I met my husband," Klusener said. "His dad was my government teacher and tennis coach."

Mariah Banning grew up in Newton, but has been in Valley Center for the past several years. She's married to the city's fire captain, Nick Banning, and they have two children currently in the district (two others graduated from VCHS).

Banning will teach special education at the middle school. She said she chose Valley Center "to be closer to my children and because I am ready to be part of the Valley Center community."

Lindsey Koehn is returning to Valley Center. She taught at the intermediate school from 2011 to 2019 and now will join the staff at the middle school, where she will teach English.

Holly Lawrence has lived in the Valley Center school district for several years. She and her husband have two children in the high school. She will be an English instructional support teacher at the high school.

Amanda Morton grew up in Valley Center and taught school in the Wichita school district and in Texas. She will join the staff at Abilene Elementary as a kindergarten teacher.

"I chose to teach in Valley Center because I wanted to teach in a district that treats its employees like family and has a supportive and energized community," Morton said.