All The Columbus School 4th grade teachers for the 2016-17 school year are either new to the school or the grade level and these changes have led to a whole new vibe.

William Stanton, Tania Howard, Tracy Goettsch, and Kyle James are part of the new 4th grade staff who came from other institutions. All 4th grade teachers are new except for Amy Stuart who was a 2nd grade teacher and Andrea Gil who worked in the Learning Center last year.

“This is my fourth year teaching, and I’ve thought 4th grade every year, so I was very excited that they asked me to teach 4th grade again. I think they are the perfect age and I love them so much,” Tracy Goettsch, 4th grade teacher, said.

Goettsch comes from teaching at Ape View Academy in Colorado; one reason she decided to come and teach in Medellin is to improve her Spanish. But she has other reasons as well.  

“I wanted to live somewhere warm. Some Americans think that Colombia is not safe, that preconceived notion; but since we did research we knew that Medellin was a “happening place” and was rated the most innovative city in South America,” Goettsch said.

Other teachers like William Stanton, came to the Medellin after two years of teaching in Santa Marta at Colegio Bureche because of the positive comments he heard from other people.

“My principal in Santa Marta used to work here, and she helped me get a job here. I decided I wanted to work here so I could keep working on my Spanish. Santa Marta is nice to visit, but Medellin is nicer to live.” William Stanton, 4th grade teacher, said.

A few of the teachers felt like they had more plan time at this school compared with previous working experiences. Freedom was something else they felt contrasted in this school.

“I have a lot more freedom here to do what I feel in the classroom. I can teach them whatever I feel is important. In the States every second of what I was doing was planned out…here I gonna be so much better of a teacher,” Goettsch said.

Medellin became the ultimate top choice for various educators who were offered jobs at different places.

“I was offered 4 jobs at different schools from Venezuela, Ecuador, Medellin, and a school in Mexico,” Goettsch said.

Others felt like it was important to teach in different parts of the world. Tania Howard, for example, came from Ridgemont in Paris Elementary and was deciding on changing schools.

“If I was gonna move schools, it might as well be outside of the country and I’m happy I did. So far I really like it, me encanta Medellin,” Howard, 4th grade teacher, said.