Courtney Miess
2nd Grade Teacher
Hometown: Dodgeville
High school graduated from: Dodgeville
College: Courtney earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education with a Minor in Early Childhood from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
Previous employment: Most recently, Courtney was an intern at Mineral Point Elementary during the Spring 2021 semester in 2nd Grade. Previously, she was a Special Education Paraprofessional at Dodgeville Elementary and an America Reads Tutor at Belmont Elementary.
Family: Parents: Pat & Dawn Miess, Siblings: Emily, Tamara, Paige. My pup, Gunnar.
Hobbies/Free time interests: During my free time I enjoy hiking with my dog Gunnar, traveling, and visiting family.
What attracted you to apply in #PointerNation?: I love how supportive, caring, and how dedicated all the staff, students, and the community are! The Mineral Point Unified School District goes above and beyond to make sure each student is supported academically, socially, and emotionally.
Quotable: “I have had the opportunity to work with children of different ages and needs to help build my understanding of child development, learning strategies, and foster a love for learning. Each of these experiences has allowed me to take what I have learned throughout college and apply skills and knowledge to develop successful lessons, individual learning plans, behavior management strategies, and ways in which I can help students be excited to learn and be successful in and out of the classroom.
Through my experiences, I have learned the importance of collaboration, creating lifelong learners, and having a growth mindset for myself and for my students. Collaboration is important for staff and students as it allows us to present new ideas and gain new perspectives on the world around us. As a teacher, I want to create lifelong learners who can take what they are learning in the classroom and apply it to the real world around them. I feel it is so important to have a growth mindset for myself and for my students. By doing so, this allows me to continue to learn new information and strategies to continue to better my teaching. This also allows my students to find the importance and fun in learning new things about the world around them throughout their education and into the real world. As a teacher, I want to foster a love for learning for my students. In my classroom, I will focus on the whole child. Students will be supported academically, socially, and emotionally. In doing so this allows for students to feel safe and ready to learn. I want students to be critical thinkers who ask questions, dig deeper, and who are creative with ways in which they learn and explore new topics. In my classroom, I will create a safe, inclusive, and learner-centered classroom in which each child is welcomed into.”