Announcing Cory’s Newest Team Members…

Posted August 7, 2015

On behalf of the Cory Personnel Committee, it is my pleasure to introduce to you our newest Cory Team Members, Katie McOwen, Hyun-Jung Behmer and Kim Nagel. Katie will be our new 4/5 Math-Science Teacher and both Hyun-Jung and Kim join our tremendous Paraprofessional Team.

Please click below for their respective biographies for more information.

Katie McOwen (4/5 Math-Science)
Hyun-Jung Behmer (Paraprofessional)

Kim Nagel (Paraprofessional)

I also wanted to take the time to share with you the process in which our teaching candidate (Katie) was chosen. DPS has a tight recruitment system to help ensure every DPS classroom has the most qualified teacher. Within this system is a level of freedom for each school to dig deeper and find the best candidates for their particular school and needs. Below is a snapshot of the process in which we took to find what we believe are the “best of the best”.  Note:  Both Hyun-Jung and Kim were chosen by myself, in conjunction with high recommendations from various teachers currently on our team who have worked closely with them in the past.

Cory Personnel Committee Report-  August 2015
Personnel Committee members include:  Jennifer Harris (Principal), Diana Golden (2nd Grade Rep., Alternate), Annie Guerrero (3rd Grade Rep.), Rainy LaVenture (4th/5th Grade Rep.) Julie Keppler (4/5 Math-Science), Debbie Stricker (4/5 Math-Science), Maria Dutmer (Parent Rep.), Chris Powell (Parent Rep)., Jay Willoughby (Parent Representative Alternate), and Peggy Bowdouris (Parent Representative Alternate).

Resume Reviews

  • On July 30th, 2015 the personnel committee of Rainy, Julie, Annie, Maria, Chris, Diana, Jay, and Jen met to review 44 resumes. 9 candidates were identified and asked to interview.
  • 6 candidates were scheduled to interview on August 6th, 2015.

Interview and References

  • Of the 6 that were originally chosen to interview, 1 accepted another position before the interview and 1 was a no-show.
  • On Aug 6th, the personnel committee of Rainy, Julie, Annie, Maria, Chris, Jay, Peggy, Debbie, Diana and Jen interviewed 4 candidates.

Based on the interviews and references, the committee agreed upon a recommendation to hire Katie. Katie has the compassion, desire, temperament and foundation to be a great addition to Cory.  Katie will be an asset to our team and will offer the latest and greatest in instructional strategies to the classroom. As you will read, her major in architecture provides a strong background in the area of math.  Special Note: If your child was assigned Rich Ashburn for 5th Grade, their new teacher is Katie McOwen. She will be sending a letter via email to all of you by the end of next week and is excited to meet your child!

Thank you all for welcoming Katie, Hyun-Jung and Kim to our team!

We look forward to seeing all of you in a few short weeks and hope you are having a wonderful summer.

In partnership,

Jennifer Harris, Principal
jennifer_harris@dpsk12.org