Meet Mr. Paniagua
Mr. Paniagua is new to Craig this year but not new to teaching. He worked at Parker High School and Madison Elementary school for three years. As of now Mr. Paniagua is working at Craig but continues to work at Parker. He graduated in 2012 from Andrews University. He is not a traditional teacher, but a school psychologist. He doesn’t teach a class; instead, Mr. Paniagua works with students mostly in the special education department. His job is to work with the teachers, students and parents to help students persevere through struggles and try to give them the tools to, in his words, “get through it stronger on the other side.” He said, “My favorite thing about teaching is seeing positive changes in students.”
Meet Mr. Miles
Mr. Miles is new to teaching this year. In the past years Mr. Miles worked at large finance companies in St. Louis but recently moved to Janesville with his wife. He still works in finance but cut down the number of clients during the school season. He graduated from UW- Lacrosse in 2011 with an undergraduate degree in Finance and Economics and 3 years later graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with his Masters in Finance. He has several goals for this year but his main goal is to teach students to manage their personal finances because “with organized money comes an organized lifestyle,” he said. “My favorite thing about teaching so far is knowing that I can impact students and make a difference in their lives. It’s a sense of purpose that is hard to find in the business world,” he said. In his free time he coaches cross country and track but when he’s not doing that, he likes to travel internationally and visit family and friends.
Meet Ms. Tucker
This is Ms. Tuckers first official gig as a teacher. One of her past jobs including working in the Chicago Public Schools, where she worked for the past 18 months. She graduated from Archbishop Spalding High School in Baltimore, Md., in 2003 and four years later graduated with her bachelor's degree from Wagner College. She went on to get her first Master's degree from Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland in 2010 and hopes to graduate with her second masters degree by 2018. “My main goal this year is to help my students grow academically and personally,” she said. “I also hope to challenge my students to express themselves through their thoughts, actions and words.” Her favorite thing about teaching so far is that she gets to laugh with her students and share in their small discoveries. In her free time she likes spending time with her brand new puppy, Luna!
Meet Ms. Altmann
This is not Ms. Altmann’s first year teaching, but it is her first year teaching at Craig. Before Craig, she was a kindergarten teacher at a school in Japan! She graduated from The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in early 2015. She said, “One of my goals for her students this year is getting them excited about reading. I want my students to want to put their phone down and read!” Her favorite thing about teaching this year is connecting with students. Outside of school she likes shopping, watching Supergirl on the CW, playing PS4, and hanging out with her family and friends!
Meet Mr. Wiele
This is Mr. Wiele’s first gig as a teacher but since his freshmen year of college, he’s been a clinical for band festivals and has taught private lessons. He graduated from Lawrence University with two majors, Trumpet Performance and Instrumental Music Education. This year, Mr. Wiele’s goals are to get as many students involved in Solo & Ensemble as possible, perform challenging band repertoire and to build a relationship with each student in band. His favorite thing about teaching is that it doesn’t feel like a job because he gets to come to school and listen to kids make music and have fun while doing it. “Even when I’m planning lessons outside of school I get excited and it doesn’t feel like any other “job” I’ve had before” said Mr. Wiele. Outside of school he likes playing basketball, learning to be a better photographer, binge-watching Netflix, reading, listening to podcasts and pending time with family and friends.
Meet Mr. Franco
Mr. Franco is new to Craig but not new to teaching. He began teaching in 1998 in a private setting and then began teaching in the Madison Metropolitan School District where he taught history, sociology, psychology and other social students classes. He also spent a year teaching in Ghana in West Africa! Mr. Franco has also had many other teaching jobs. He graduated from Edgewood College in 1999 with his bachelor’s degree with a double major in history, minor in philosophy; secondary ED, minor in broad field social studies. Mr. Franco completed his master’s degree from Cardinal Stritch University in 2006, and four years later he completed his Ed.D. “My goals include getting to know as many students as I can and building good teacher-student relationships and helping students learn and continue to be successful personally and academically.” Mr. Franco enjoys teaching at the high school. He said, “I feel as if it’s more rewarding because I have a passion working with young students who have their entire lives in front of them.” Outside of school he enjoys playing in a band, skydiving, hunting, camping, hiking, world travel, geocaching, and spending time with his daughters.
Meet Mrs. Maness
This is Mrs. Maness’ first year teaching art. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in May 2016. Her main goal for this year is for her students to improve of their own artwork and artwork abilities. Her favorite aspect of teaching so far?To see the progress that my students are making. “It is exciting to see a students because engaged and excited about making artwork for and about themselves,” she said. Outside of the school day, she likes to explore new places with her husband Josh and their dog Shiva. Their favorite place to explore is Madison.
Meet Boran-Ragotzy
This is Mr. Boran-Ragotzy’s third year of teaching as a special ed teacher. He has taught in the World Language Department in the past years. He has many goals as a teacher this year for his students. He graduated from Craig High School in 2010 and four years later graduated from Carroll University. “By far my favorite thing about teaching is witnessing students find their passion and instantly develop the drive to pursue their dreams,” he said. Outside of school he likes to spend time at the gym, participate in school events, and manage his own business.