Dear Parents and Students,
As this new year begins, I would like to welcome you to English class and introduce myself. This semester marks my first experience with the Mount Zion School District.
Long, long, long ago (1996), I graduated from Stephen Decatur High School. My favorite subjects were English and French, and my favorite sports were softball, volleyball, basketball, and bowling. Softball was my best sport, so naturally, several of my summers were spent playing for CIGS Misfits. I also had several jobs, beginning my first one at 10-years-old! When I was 10, I started delivering newspapers for the Herald & Review and ended up delivering papers every day until I started college! At 13-years-old, I began detasseling, and every summer until I turned 21-years old, I detasseled and rogued or walked beans. So, I am no stranger to hard work!
After high school, I ventured off to Illinois State University, where I earned a degree with specializations in Speech Communication, French, and English. I was lucky enough to spend one semester studying in Angers, France. In college, I also held several jobs: copy editor for the Daily Vidette, food-service employee at Atkin-Colby cafeteria, maintenance worker at the Bloomington outlet mall, and cashier at J.C. Penney and Menards. One summer, I had a great time working as a ticket taker at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, IL. During the first semester of 2002, I taught English and Speech (as a student teacher) at Bloomington Central Catholic High School, where I also helped with the school play. After that, I got my first paid teaching job.
My teaching career began in January 2002, at Olympia High School, where I filled in for a teacher who was out for maternity leave. In August 2003, I started my first full-time teaching job at Herscher High School. While there, I taught English and coached volleyball, basketball cheerleading, and softball. From August 2005 to May 2016, I taught English/Communication at Monticello High School. From 2005-2011, I advised yearbook and newspaper, and in 2012, I began coursework which led to the completion of a Master’s Degree in Reading (May 2015) from Illinois State University. While I take pride in my accomplishments, nothing makes me more proud than my family.
Growing up as the fourth child in a family of seven has taught me to appreciate the values of sharing and compromising. My mother and father started the Burtschi family 48 years ago in Anchorage, Alaska, where my two older brothers were born. After two years in Anchorage, they moved to Green Bay, Wisconsin, where my older sister was born. That family lived in Green Bay for 10 years and started a tradition of loyalty to the Packers. GO GREEN! Finally, they moved to good old Decatur, Illinois, where my younger sister and I were born.
Today, my oldest brother, Andy, lives in Colorado Springs and works as a physical therapist and musician. He lives with an extraordinarily outgoing wife and three energetic sons. My other brother, Dan, worked as a military police officer for the Army National Guard until his retirement. He now resides in Cary, Illinois and works as a stay-at-home dad for two daughters and one son. His extremely intelligent wife enjoys her work as a partner for a company called Ernst and Young. My older sister, Amy, lives in Decatur and works as a Cardio-Pulmonary nurse at Decatur Memorial Hospital. And finally, my younger sister, Karen, lives in Normal, Illinois and works in El Paso at a company called Nucor. I call her the “dog whisperer” because of how well she has trained her two giant dogs, Chloe and Otis. As for me, I lived in Champaign for six years before finally moving back to Decatur about four years ago. I have a house and one dog, Little Boy.
Even though I have lived in Central Illinois all my life, I have never grown accustomed to the winter season. Each time I have to shovel my driveway, I find myself looking forward to summer! Each summer, I try to travel somewhere new. So far, I’ve made it to several European countries and about 20 states. Next summer, I hope to spend about one month in Colorado. Until then, I am pleased to teach at Mount Zion High School.
Sincerely,
Ms. Burtschi
