Posted

Sub of the Month

 

Emilie Reinertsen has always enjoyed working with children. Before she was a substitute teacher, Emilie worked for the Children’s Division at the Department of Social Services in Missouri.

“I was a Children’s Service Worker for 5 years,” Emilie said. “I worked with children and families providing protective services in instances of abuse and neglect, or with foster children who’ve been removed from their homes.”

In fact, Emilie has been preparing for her career working with children since she graduated from Kansas State University with a bachelor’s degree in family studies.

“I chose to do my internship my senior year with a high school Social Worker. I’ve just always been drawn to working with children, as well as in schools!”

After her time as a Children’s Service Worker, she moved to Houston, TX with her husband Troy.

“We only planned on living there for a few years and then planned to move back to Kansas. But when the economy took a downturn, those two years turned into ten!”

While in Houston, Emilie and Troy had two daughters, Presley and Paige.

“It was always our intention to raise our daughters in Kansas near all of our family,” Emilie said. “So, four and a half years ago, we moved back!”

After being a stay at home mom for 11 years, Emilie was ready to enter the workforce again but needed something with the flexibility to allow her to work part-time while her kids were still young.

“Substitute teaching gave me everything I was looking for: flexibility, income, time with my daughters and an opportunity to be in a school setting!”

One of Emilie’s favorite things about being a substitute teacher is getting to work in a school environment, often in the same school as her daughters.

“Because of my two daughters and their activities, plus my three nieces, and our neighborhood kids, I know a lot of the students throughout the Desoto elementary schools,” Emilie said. “I think they are excited to have me in their classrooms because they know me outside of school and I’m a familiar face they can trust.”

In her free time, Emilie enjoys spending time with family and friends playing games, singing karaoke, watching her youngest daughter play soccer and volleyball, and helping her oldest daughter at her dance competitions.

Emelie has worked for MHED for two and a half years. She always receives excellent feedback from teachers and is very flexible with the schools she goes to. She will help us out when we are in a pinch and is a pleasure to work with. We had the opportunity to observe Emelie in the classroom recently and she did an amazing job! Thanks Emelie for all you do.