With a lack of seniors, the school does not have as many teachers as it will in the future. As a result of not needing as many teachers this year, this has created a situation where seven out of 54 teachers from East, also teach at Gretna High School (GHS).
“I teach dual-credit public speaking, and the new high school didn’t quite have enough to hire a full-time teacher, so I volunteered to go between,” English teacher Blaine Christen said.
There are other teachers who switch between the schools to teach College Prep (CP) courses or Dual Credit (DC) courses. Several DC courses are senior only classes, so they are only being taught at GHS this year. Additionally, some courses require the educator to have certain certifications or expertise to teach them, which is another reason a teacher may be a dual-school staff member.
For example, teaching computer science skills such as cyber security, coding and game design require a teacher with a distinct knowledge base. Kimberly Ingraham-Beck and Adam Schwaninger are those teachers for the high schools. Ingraham-Beck teaches at GHS in the morning and then at East in the afternoon, and Schwaninger does the reverse. Ingram-Beck prefers being assigned to teach at both schools.
“I really enjoy seeing all my old students (students at GHS that she’s had in the past), especially the senior class,” she said.
HAL facilitator Rick Arch is also a traveling teacher.
“I teach academic decathlon at both schools and for right now, I teach a Calculus Three class at Gretna High School,” Arch said. “Next year, I will teach that (at East), there’s just no seniors here to take that yet.”
Teaching higher-level or specialized classes is not the only reason some teachers make the switch during the day.
Going between the schools requires these teachers to pack up their things and drive to GHS, or GEHS halfway through the day, but it doesn’t seem to bother the teachers. Traveling between the schools was a choice that some of them made and wanted to do, whether the administration suggested it or they volunteered.
“I preferred to go between the buildings,” Arch said. “It was kinda a mutual decision.”
Next year, the school will have its first senior class, which will inevitably mean more teachers will be needed to teach them. As the population of the school increases, Jepsen said that they will hire more teachers to fulfill teaching positions as needed, but there will likely be some teachers who remain dual-school teachers.
