Sean Mullins
Contributing Writer
Laura Tague
Laura Tague is a new SSD teacher who helps students with classwork and moving between classes.
Tague has been an aide in SSD for three-and-a-half years and has nine and a half years overall of teaching experience. Tague has also worked at elementary and middle schools, but she loves working with high school children the most, and she said the best way to teach is to let the students be themselves.
“I learn a lot from these kids,” Tague said. “It’s amazing how sweet and kind they are.”
Tague’s goal for the school year is to learn how to navigate this massive building.
Lily Hall
Lily Hall is the new psychologist at WGHS and Edgar Road.
Hall recently finished her PhD after five years of education. After interning at WGHS last year, she took a liking to the school.
“I fell in love with the district, the students, the staff,” Hall said. “Everyone is very welcoming, and I thought it was a great place to work.”
What Hall likes most about being a psychologist is interacting with the students, and her belief is that the key to helping students is just to listen to them. She said that one cannot take a single approach, but instead she has to consider the students’ different needs.
Hall is also recently married. She will change her last name to Stella.
Dave Kilstrom
Dave Kilstrom teaches social skills classes with the SSD. This is his third year with the SSD, and he has
been teaching for 16 years.
As a social skills teacher, Kilstrom’s classes focus on problem solving. Every student learns in a different way, and so his class is very flexible, which means he teaches anything from organizational skills to vocabulary. He knows that to reach students, one needs to meet them where they are at with their learning, and that the best way to help them is through creative thinking and flexibility. If there’s one thing Kilstrom wants the students to know, though, it’s that he can relate to them in a way.
“The way I’ve introduced myself to students is that I’m a freshman this year, too,” Kilstrom said. “I’m new, just like they are.”
Colleen Flickinger
Colleen Flickinger is a new resource teacher for both WGHS and Hudson Elementary School.
Flickinger has worked with the SSD for 10 years, but this is her 24th year overall as a special education teacher. In the past, she worked in the Ferguson/Florissant district. Flickinger said all students deserve the best possible education in the least restrictive environment.
“My role as a special education teacher is to help each student to reach their full potential,” Flickinger said in an email.
Flickinger is excited to be at WGHS, and she looks forward to getting to know the students and staff.
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