Elmbrook Spotlight: Meet Angela Malett and Mark Gimla

Angela Malett

• School: Dixon Elementary School
• Grade/Subject: Fifth
• Years in the Elmbrook School District: 16 years
• College/University: UW-Whitewater (undergrad) Cardinal Stritch (grad)

What’s the best part of teaching in the Elmbrook School District?
We have high standards and leaders that hold us to those high standards.  I feel I am always being challenged with new ways to help students succeed and I love that!

Why I wanted to be a teacher:
Of course because I love kids and I wanted a job where every single day would be different.

If I wasn’t a teacher, I’d be:
In advertising or a professional organizer

My least favorite subject in high school was:
Chemistry

My favorite school lunch menu item was:
Corn Dogs

Mark Gimla

• School: Dixon Elementary School
• Grade/Subject: Second grade
• Years in the Elmbrook School District: 13
• College/University: Cardinal Stritch University

What’s the best part of teaching in the Elmbrook School District:
The best part of working in the Elmbrook School District is working with the children. The children that come through my classroom become part of a special community of learners.  I feel a great deal of responsibility, pride, and determination to give them the best possible way or multiple ways to learn. 

Why I wanted to be a teacher:
I wanted to become a teacher because children have a special place in my heart. I have always felt that I can give something back to the community through working with children. Prior to teaching I had experiences in a variety of daycare experiences and youth and family services. I feel a great deal of satisfaction when I have made a difference in other lives. I have felt that all students should have the best opportunity to learn, succeed and have the best possible option to achieve self-reliance and independence.

If I wasn’t a teacher, I’d be:
If I weren’t a teacher I would probably be finishing my career in the U.S. Navy.  I spent two years aboard a carrier and two years in the reserves. It was the Navy that changed my life as a young adult and taught me about self-discipline.  It gave me an appreciation for our society and the freedoms we all enjoy and cherish on a daily basis. 

My least favorite subject in high school was:
My least favorite subject in high school was math.  I struggled in math because I wasn’t given different opportunities to learn the skills.  I also feel that I was much more interested in hanging out with friends! Good thing I went into the Navy. 

My favorite school lunch menu item was:
My favorite school lunch menu in school was mock chicken legs, mashed potatoes, and corn.