Moorhead High chemistry teacher Jana Kasper grew up in a teaching family and tried for her first years of college to not be a teacher. She knew teaching could mean long hours and work at home, and she thought she was going to do something different.
It was her love of working with kids and the challenge that each year brings with a new set of students that drew her to teaching.
Kasper, who has taught at Moorhead High School for the last 27 years, has been named the 2014 Moorhead Teacher of the Year by the Education Moorhead Communications Committee.
Kasper was selected because of the outstanding contributions she has made to the students, parents and staff of Moorhead High School, as well as the Moorhead Area Public Schools, the committee said in a statement.
“She is truly devoted to her students, demonstrates a willingness to serve on numerous extracurricular activities, and finds time to volunteer in our community,” the communications committee said.
Principal Dave Lawrence agrees.
“Beyond being an exceptional teacher in the classroom, Jana’s greatest quality is how much she cares about the students at Moorhead High School,” he said. “She has been involved or directed many different activities over the years. The one thing that sticks out to me is how many student events and activities Jana attends. She is such a strong supporter of our students, and I know how important that is to them.”
Kasper graduated from Concordia College, Moorhead, with a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry. She earned her master’s in education from North Dakota State University.
In the fall of 1986 Kasper began teaching mostly biology classes and one chemistry section at Moorhead High. About eight years later she was teaching more chemistry than biology. Now she teaches chemistry and AP Chemistry.
Besides teaching, Kasper was cheerleading advisor for eight years, she is Key Club advisor, and she serves as the science representative on the district’s Health and Safety Committee.
“My desire as a teacher is to always push a student to do the best they can and for them to gain some understanding of the world of chemistry,” Kasper said. “But I like to have some fun along the way. I think it is important for kids to see that I enjoy my work because that helps them to enjoy the material as well. Being an educator has got to be more than just teaching your subject. Investing in the lives of students is such an important part of education and investing in your school.”
According to Lawrence, Kasper is an exceptional educator who has high classroom expectations and understands the importance of developing relationships with students.
“Jana is a great representative of Moorhead High and very deserving of this honor,” he said.
Other teacher of the year candidates were Deb Booth, early literacy intervention teacher at Ellen Hopkins Elementary, April Johnson, early childhood special education teacher for Early Intervention Services, Daniel Dooher, eighth-grade language arts teacher at Horizon Middle School, Leah Green, special education teacher at Robert Asp Elementary, and Stephenie Herbranson, fifth-grade teacher at S.G. Reinertsen Elementary.
