Hallie Ballinger
One of the new additions to the Crofton Community School staff this year is Hallie Ballinger.
Along with assisting the high school basketball program, she also teaches K-6 special education. “I help teach all of the subjects, so I love them all.”
She grew up in Pender and received her diploma from Wayne State College. Last year, Hallie completed her student teaching here at Crofton. “When I student-taught, I loved the community and everyone here was very welcoming. I just loved the way it felt to be in this community.” She’s most looking forward to really getting to know the kids and more people in the local community.
Hannah Blomstedt
Mrs. Hannah Blomstedt is a new staff member at Crofton Community Schools.
Mrs. Blomstedt is the new art teacher for 7-12 grade at Crofton High School. She got her education at the University of Nebraska-Kearney where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in K-12 education and then went back to get her Masters Degree in K-12 education.
Mrs. Blomstedt’s first job was in Holcomb, Kansas. She previously taught there for four years as the middle school arts teacher, and after that she got a job with ESU2 in Fremont. Mrs. Blomstedt got to travel around to a lot of different schools like Santee, Niobrara, Emerson, and Pender to work with teachers in their classrooms. Mrs. Blomstedt likes mixed media and more contemporary art projects.
She recently moved to Fordyce, Nebraska with her husband, two children, and their dog. When she was interviewed for the job at Crofton, she said, “It was very comfortable and I felt like this is where I am supposed to be.”
Evan Bennett
Evan Bennett is the new custodian at Crofton Elementary School this year.
Evan worked at Vestas American Wind Technology, and then he worked for Key Technology in agricultural sorting. After that Evan worked as an instructor in the Energy Systems Program at Walla Walla Community College in Walla Walla, Washington. Evan now lives in Crofton with his family. He has a son that is nine years old and a daughter who is four years old.
Evan chose to work for Crofton Elementary School because his son is attending school there and he wanted to give back to his community and he says, ”it’s good to see that whole area from this angle.”
Evan’s main role as a custodian at Crofton Elementary School is to make sure that the school is clean and functioning properly; for example, he was working on the roof in the rain at the time of this interview. Evan is excited to get to know everyone and to see how the year goes.
Shiann Hansen
Ms. Shiann Hansen is the new English teacher at Crofton High School.
She teaches sophomore and senior English, Novels, and will be the assistant speech coach. Ms. Hansen previously worked at Plainview, teaching seventh, eighth, freshman, and senior English, and reading. She received a dual degree in English and Secondary Education, and had a minor in theatre at Mount Marty University in Yankton. She student-taught under Mrs. Roxie Pier in the spring of 2020.
Ms. Hansen is the youngest of five children and grew up on a petting zoo.This year she is looking forward to meeting her students and colleagues, growing as a teacher, and getting to know Crofton. Her favorite book is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Her favorite authors are Rudy Francisco and Amanda Lovelace.
Holly Janssen
Holly Janssen is a new special education teacher at both the High School and the Elementary School.
Holly’s mom, dad, and her three sisters all live in Yankton, SD. Holly currently lives in Yankton with her husband, Jaden Janssen.
Holly received her teaching education from the University of Sioux Falls. Working at Crofton Community Schools is Holly's first teaching job. She decided to work at Crofton because she was looking for a smaller school district and her parents both graduated from Crofton.
Mrs. Janssen is also the assistant cross country coach this year. Typically, she is more of a walker, but recently she pushed herself to go on a run. Janssen stated, “I have run three miles, but it wasn’t good.”
Rachel Kaup
Ms. Rachel Kaup is a new teacher at Crofton Community Schools who teaches Physical Science for Junior High and High School.
She will also be a new assistant track coach. Ms. Kaup has two older sisters in the medical field and a younger brother still in high school, her mom is a nurse, and her dad is a carpenter. Her family is pretty active and loves to go camping, fishing, and boating.
Ms. Kaup earned her Bachelor's Degree of Science at Wayne State College. Ms. Kaup’s favorite, and most interesting, animal she has ever dissected during her training was a Tiger Shark.
Ms. Kaup used to be Stanton’s head volleyball coach before she moved to Crofton. She moved to Crofton because she likes the location, the values of the school, and the closeness of the community.
Ms. Kaup is looking forward to getting to know all the students, learning about their passions and career choices, and becoming a part of this community.
Katie Pinkelman
Mrs. Katie Pinkelman recently joined Crofton Community Schools as a new special education paraprofessional.
Mrs. Pinkelman previously worked at Hartington Newcastle Public Schools as a special education para for four years and two years in the cafeteria prior to that.
She chose to go to Crofton because she wanted to work where her kids go to school and she wanted the same schedule as them. Mrs. Pinkelman got her education from Western Iowa Tech Community College. She was there for a little over two years.
Mrs. Pinkelman has four kids, three boys and one girl. Her oldest is going to be a freshman in college studying Aviation, her second is an 11th grader, Seth, her third is in 10th grade Sam, and her fourth child, Seanna, is in 8th grade. Her family is very active and loves sports. Mrs. Pinkelman is looking forward to football and basketball games.
Brandi Reinhardt
Brandi Reinhardt is one of the new staff members in the Elementary School.
She is a paraprofessional, and before she got this job in Crofton she was a hairdresser. Mrs. Reinhardt moved here with her family. Her daughter is starting kindergarten this year, so Mrs. Reinhardt is excited to be in the building with her daughter.
Reinhardt stated, “Crofton Community School has a very good reputation.” She loves being a para even if sometimes it’s hard. Mrs. Reinhardt really didn’t know what she was looking for, but she is so excited to help out all the kids that just need a little more support.
Eating school lunches again is something different for Mrs. Reinhardt, but she really likes how the pepperoni pizza tastes at the Elementary School.
Nicolle Wollan
Nicolle Wollan is the new office secretary at Crofton Community Elementary School.
Originally from Colorado, she lived and worked in Minnesota for about 27 years. Nicolle has previously worked at the Forest Lake Schools, and moved to the Crofton area in January. She is married and has three children, one here in Nebraska and two still in Minnesota.
With past elementary experience, applying for this job was an easy decision. “I just saw the application and thought that I’d apply.” She enjoys working with elementary-age children. “I’m interested to see how the Crofton community works and what a school year looks like. I’m excited to learn more about the area and more about the children and families.”
New staff members at the high school Shiann Hansen, Holly Janssen, Rachel Kaup, and Hannah Blomstedt