VALLEY INSIGHT
by Dr. Shelly Engle
Language Arts Teacher
Tippecanoe Valley High School
The Many Reasons I Love Tippecanoe Valley Schools
I often find myself telling my husband, community members, colleagues, students, and my own children, “I love Tippecanoe Valley Schools.” Some may think that I am simply stating this as a contingency of my employment; however, anyone who knows me will know that this is not the case at all. I graduated a Viking, as did my husband, Jason. We have raised one Viking graduate, Johnathan, and have two more, Matthew and Lydia, coming up through the ranks to be Valley graduates. I live, work, and spend much of my free time in our community and schools. There are two sides to my Tippecanoe Valley experience: the parental side and the teacher side.
Being a parent of a student at Tippecanoe Valley is a full-time job. Valley students are awarded some of the best opportunities around to excel and grow into productive community members. This keeps parents busy and involved; Jason and I are thrilled to be so active supporting our children. Johnathan was able to graduate high school with 27 credit hours that transferred to college, shaving one full year off of his collegiate academic time. He had the privilege of attending both elementary schools, TVMS, and TVHS. Matthew started his academic career as a kindergartener this year at Akron Elementary. Akron has always been near and dear to my heart as I started both my academic and teaching career there. His year has been the best that we could ever ask for as parents. Lydia will be a kindergartener next year. We cannot wait for her to start her academic journey at Valley as well!
Being an educator in the Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation has been and continues to be immensely rewarding. I love being a teacher and being with our students. Throughout my career, I have worked with some of the best educators in the profession. Teaching involves strong collaboration, personal learning and growth, high-quality planning and implementation, vertical articulation, old-fashioned hard work, and a host of other responsibilities. The people your children are exposed to are top-notch individuals, caring about students and their success first and foremost. They spend their time, energy, prayers, and even their own money to ensure that kids have everything they need to be equipped to be successful today, tomorrow, and beyond. No teacher in this corporation considers this a 7:30-3:30 job. No student is just a number to be seen for 180 days and moved on to the next setting. Valley teachers view our students as our future community to be served and to be fostered into the people that make communities blossom and prosper.
There are so many other things that I could say about TVSC schools. Each school offers its students numerous ways to grow, thrive, and flourish. High-quality academics taught and supported by effective and caring staff is just the beginning of what is available to our students. Spend any time at all in our schools and you will see for yourself why I love TVSC so much.
VALLEY INSIGHT – MAY 2018 – SHELLY ENGLE
