Elmbrook Spotlight: Meet Mary Barker, Jill Brantman

Mary Barker

• School: Tonawanda
• Grade/Subject:  Speech/Lanuage
• Years in the Elmbrook School District: 16
• College/University:  University of Wisconsin-Madison

What’s the best part of teaching in the Elmbrook School Distict:
Support from parents and working with professionals who love what they do. 

Why I wanted to be a teacher: 
I was all set to enter grad school and specialize in cleft lip/palate in a hospital setting, yet I was fortunate as an undergrad to have to student teach at Kegonsa Elementary School in Stoughton, WI. During student teaching, I finally understood “language” and the impact of “language disorders” on academic and social development in students.  I was hooked, loved every moment of student teaching, and changed my focus to apeech/language services in the schools.

If I wasn’t a teacher, I’d be:
Some type of mental health professional working with children and social skills. 

My least favorite subject in high school was:
French IV 

My favorite school lunch menu item was:
Spaghetti

Jill Brantman

• School:  Wisconsin Hills Middle School
• Grade/Subject:  7th Grade Social Studies
• Years in the Elmbrook School District: Nine
• College/University:  Bachelors of Science in Elementary/Middle Education from University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and Masters of Art in Reading/Language Arts from Cardinal Stritch University

What’s the best part of teaching in the Elmbrook School District:
The best part of teaching in the Elmbrook School District is the students and parental support.  It is a community that cares about education and has high expectations from their educators, which produces great schools and student achievement.

Why I wanted to be a teacher:
I think I was born to be a teacher.  At a young age I always loved to play school with my sisters and usually insisted on being the teacher. I would use a card table as my desk and instruct them in subjects I was currently learning about in school.  As I became a teenager my love for children developed, and I spent most of my free time baby-sitting.  It is what I consider my first job, and I loved the interaction with the kids.

If I wasn’t a teacher, I’d be:
A lawyer.

My least favorite subject in high school was:
Geometry, but I loved algebra.

My favorite school lunch item was:
Mock chicken leg.