Bayley is excited to return to Hanawalt as a teacher! She grew up in Des Moines and attended Hanawalt, Merrill, and Roosevelt. She earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Iowa State University. Bayley has been a teacher in DMPS for 10 years. She taught kindergarten for six years before finding her passion for teaching multilingual learners. Bayley lives near Roosevelt with her husband, Frank, and her sons, Elliott and Cooper. She enjoys traveling, trying new restaurants, and walking her dog, Mookie.

Linda has worked for DMPS for 24 years.  She graduated from Iowa State and taught Kindergarten at Phillips Elementary in Des Moines for 15 years.  She and her husband, Dave, live in the Hanawalt neighborhood. Their three children attended Hanawalt.  Mrs. Beeman enjoys reading, spending time with family, going to movies and walking their Brittney named Poppy.

Follow on Twitter: @beemandl

Kelly Carpenter is married and has two children. She grew up in Elkader, Iowa and comes from a family of teachers. She went to UNI for her undergraduate degree in education with a minor in reading, and  has a reading specialist degree along with a master’s degree in education.  She taught for several years in California before making Hanawalt her home.  Mrs. Carpenter enjoys reading, spending time with her family and traveling.

My name is Caroline Carpenter and this is my first year at Hanawalt and my fifth year teaching. I grew up in Des Moines and graduated from Drake University with a degree in elementary education and endorsements in reading and talented and gifted. I live in West Des Moines with my husband and our very spoiled dog.  I absolutely love being a part of the Hanawalt community and I feel very lucky to be here!

My name is Callie Deblon and I have been at Hanawalt since 2019. I started in DMPS in 2018. I love the community that Hanawalt has, and I feel very lucky to be here. I am currently in the role of being a reading and math interventionist. Before that I taught 2nd grade for several years. I went to Simpson College–go Storm! I live in Des Moines with my husband and Golden Retriever, Kobe. I am excited to make this the best year yet!

Kerry Esch has been at Hanawalt since 1995. She first started as a teacher associate then taught several different grades including 2nd, 4th and 5th grade. She grew up in Des Moines and went St. Augustin’s, Hubbell and Merrill Junior High and graduated from Roosevelt High School. Her six siblings all graduated from Dowling Catholic High School. She attained her teaching degree from Iowa State and received her Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from Viterbo University, Lacrosse WI. She is married and has a daughter, Alaina and a stepdaughter, Alex who lives in Indianola. She lives with her family and their dogs,  Maizy and Murphy. She loves to laugh, read, and be around people.

This is Samantha’s 8th year as a Hanawalt Hawk! She is a graduate of Grand View University where she received her bachelors in Elementary Education and an endorsement in Reading. In her free time Samantha enjoys, reading, writing and doing crafts. Teaching is an absolute passion of Samantha’s and she is very excited for this year in 4th grade!

Twitter: @MrsFoltz305

Eric is thrilled to be a part of the Hanawalt community and returning as a fifth-grade teacher. He spent his first two years at Hanawalt as a fourth-grade teacher. Prior to coming to Hanawalt, he spent most of his 16 years as an educator in Denver Public Schools as a fifth-grade teacher, academic interventionist, and instructional coach.   In his free time, his family enjoys biking, gardening, and camping.

Melissa was born and raised in Ottumwa, Iowa.   After receiving her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary and Early Childhood Education from University of Northern Iowa, Melissa taught for three years in Durham, North Carolina and then three years in a suburb of Dallas, Texas.  Melissa then returned home to Iowa to start a family.  During the next 8 years Melissa worked as a Stay-at-Home Mom looking after her husband, Jesse, and her two boys – Theo and Mitch.  Once Mitch joined his older brother, Theo, at Hanawalt for the 2013-2014 school year, Melissa returned to her true love of teaching children.  Melissa enjoys reading, knitting, craft projects, and spending time with her family.

Daniela Lopez grew up in Waterloo, Iowa. She earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Northern Iowa. She is passionate about creating a supportive and engaging classroom where students can thrive academically and socially. Outside of the classroom, she enjoys reading, traveling, and volunteering in her community. She is excited to be a part of the Hanawalt team! 

Eric Lovell grew up in Story City, Iowa until he moved to Des Moines as a teenager. He graduated from Dowling High School and Iowa State University. He is married and has four children. Mr. Lovell has enjoyed teaching at Hanawalt for many years. Working with students at Hanawalt has been, and continues to be a delight.

Sydney Mathis grew up in Story City, Iowa. She earned her degree from Iowa State University in Elementary Education along with a Learning Technology Minor. Sydney is also endorsed in Math, Reading and English/ Language Arts. In her free time, Sydney enjoys traveling, exercising and spending time with family. She is so excited to be a part of the Hanawalt team!

Randi McNally began her teaching career in Denver, Colorado, in 1997.  Over the years, she has taught 3^rd-5^th grade for Denver Public Schools and PreK at Plymouth Nursery School.  She has been a substitute for Des Moines Public Schools since 2016, spending most of her time at Hanawalt.  From 2020-2022, Randi was the Children’s Ministry Director at Central Presbyterian Church.  She became a full-time teacher at Hanawalt in 2022.  Randi and her husband live in Des Moines and have three adult children. She holds degrees from Iowa State and University of Denver, as well as a Reading Endorsement from Morningside College.

Bailea Pakkebier has been a special education teacher at Hanawalt since 2018. She grew up outside of Chicago and graduated from Central College in Pella, Iowa. In her free time, she likes to spend time with family and friends, run, and play the trombone!

Gwen Roth-Rauen has been teaching well over twenty years, primarily in Kindergarten and 1st grade, but in other grades as well.   She has been a nurse for 31 years and keeps her license current to stay on top of current areas of child development and for further education. She has two grown sons, Michael and Zachary and a daughter, Sophia.  She lives in Des Moines’ Beaverdale neighborhood with two large dogs and two large tomcats. Ms. Roth loves her job and thanks all the Hanawalt families, students and staff for this amazing experience every day!

My name is Sarah Sheeley and I am so excited to be Hanawalt’s Art Teacher! I have been teaching Art in the district for the past 8 years and feel like being at Hanawalt I am coming home to a place I will get to be and stay at for a very long part of my teaching career! I am a practicing artist who does a lot of painting, jewelry, and fiber arts. I studied at Kansas City Art Institute after graduating from DMPS in 2006, then moved back and attended Drake University for my degree in Arts Education. My husband, Heith, and I and our mini Australian Shephard, Cedar, and have expanded with our newest addition our daughter Harli! I look forward to infusing her life with creativity and art just like I strive to do in my teaching. When I am not making or teaching art I love to spend time watching Heith cook (he is a chef!) and obviously taste testing. I also enjoy spending time in nature, reading, practicing yoga, traveling and going to see live music whenever possible. I am so excited to be a part of the Hanawalt family!

Scot started teaching in his hometown of Denison, IA, where he taught elementary for 10 years.  In Des Moines he has taught at Goodrell and Harding Middle Schools and spent two years as an Instructional Technology Coordinator.  Since 2017 he has taught at Hanawalt.  He is an alumi of the University of Northern Iowa, where he met his wife.  He is a father to 4 boys that have all been made to be die-hard fans of the Chicago Cubs. He spends his summers coaching baseball at a local high school.

Follow on Twitter @ScotSoups

Mother of Maggie Thompson and is the past PTA President for Hanawalt Elementary. She has a
BSE in education and has worked with Americorps in conjunction with the Des Moines Public School system to help kindergarten through 3rd graders improve reading and math skills.  She is s a full time substitute teacher at Hanawalt and enjoys all the different roles she does to help students.

In his 33 years at Hanawalt, Tim has been a second and third grade teacher. He began working for the Des Moines Public Schools in August of ’89, starting as a half-time teacher at Hanawalt in August 1990. Tim earned his B.A. degree from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, who majored in Spanish and Elementary Education. He attended Central High School in Davenport, IA. In 2022, at the age of 58, he earned a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville. He completed the work in three semesters and two summer sessions.

Tim is a native of western Kentucky, where he credits getting his southern demeanor, along with his passion for civil rights, from living in a racially-segregated community in the 60s. He is a proud Iowa resident since starting second grade in 1970, who grew up and served for Governors Vilsack and Culver in the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. Tim is such a proud Iowan, that he’s also been to each of Iowa’s 99 counties. He is also a recipient of a Milken National Educator Award in 1998, who also was featured on the cover of Newsweek magazine in 2000. Finally, Tim is an avid fan of trains, traveling, Crocs (the shoes), music, and, most of all, his students, friends and family.

bigtsclass.weebly.com

Jill Tyler loves to be a teacher at Hanawalt.  She loves teaching all subjects especially science, social studies and health.  She went to the University of Iowa for her undergraduate degree in teaching. She has a reading and social studies endorsement and a master’s degree in education. She has taught reading, Kindergarten, 4th grade, 6th grade, and language arts. She looks forward to teaching 5th grade this year.  She loves to be with family, ride her bicycle, and to be outdoors.

Brock graduated from the University of Northern Iowa in the Fall of 2020 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education and Health Education. He is going into his first year of teaching in 2021 and couldn’t be more excited to start his career at Hanawalt. In his free time, Brock likes to watch sports and stay outdoors. Brock also coaches middle school football and high school baseball.

My name is Valerie Wilcox. I serve as the instructional coach for Hanawalt Elementary School. I have been teaching Since 2003.  I have been at Hanawalt since 2017. The majority of my career has been in Des Moines teaching at Findley, Edmunds, and Lovejoy. In addition to teaching for Des Moines Public Schools, I have taught in Hoover City, Alabama. I earned my bachelors degree in Elementary Education from The University of Iowa and my masters degree in Education from Viterbo University.