Thank you, teachers!

Being a school administrator has been one of the most full circle moments James Larson has experienced.

The 2007 Nodaway Valley graduate returned to his alma mater a decade after graduating to teach sixth grade literature and physical education at the middle school. He took over as elementary principal in the 2021-22 school year and has also coached in the same gym he once played basketball in.

While it’s understandable that many of Larson’s former teachers are still teaching at Nodaway Valley, his two preschool teachers from the B-F Pre-Kindergarten — which was then at Emmanuel Lutheran Church and is the same program led by Kristin Walker today in Bridgewater — were current first grade teachers Susan Marnin and Shelly Harris.

“I think the main thing is they’re professionals. They’ve been in it for awhile and know what they’re doing. It’s that professional judgment, seeing how I can help and support them with any resources they might need,” Larson said. “We’ve always had a professional relationship and have gotten along because I know they’re good people.”

“We’re all in it for the right reasons,” Marnin added.

Harris began teaching in public schools in 1996 at Orient-Macksburg and transitioned to Nodaway Valley 10 years later. She enjoys the positive role she can play at an integral point of a child’s reading growth doing things like reading aloud to them and sending packets home that support what she’s teaching in the classroom.

This is Marnin’s 28th year teaching. Her first two years were in Prescott and the rest have been at Nodaway Valley. For the first five years here she taught kindergarten and the rest have been in first grade. Marnin said she loves to be around kids.

“One of the most fun things to do is to get the kids excited and have those relationships with them that they can tell you about an exciting story they’re reading or something that they’ve learned,” Marnin said. “I love sharing that enthusiasm.”

With the other first grade teacher Victoria Salmon, Harris and Marnin work closely together because they’ve developed a strong professional bond.

Harris and Marnin each have other family members who are educators. Marnin’s husband is middle school teacher Allen Marnin while their daughter, Laura Oster, is an elementary school teacher at Griswold. Harris’ daughter, Sami, teaches physical education and health at Nodaway Valley High School and also coaches.

“There are a ton of great teachers here and a ton of great people who make up our staff, Larson said. He can list off several who were his teachers, but the late Darlys Crees, whose classroom he was an aide in during high school, is who inspired him to become an educator himself. He said that for many of his former teachers, he just can’t get himself to address them by their first name.

“Going from being a student in their classes to being a colleague working side by side with them was an interesting dynamic. They’re all professional about it, want to help, want to be successful and want students to be successful,” Larson said. “A couple of them encouraged me to pursue administration too. We don’t have to have many hard conversations because they all want what’s best for kids. We all want the same thing and it’s been a pretty easy transition.”