This year there are 17 new teachers at Camas High School. Among them is Heather Siewert who teaches Algebra and Geometry to freshmen and sophomores. Although this is her first year at Camas High, Siewert has 16 years of teaching experience. She began her career with high school students, working at Kalama High for three years, before moving to Skyridge Middle School, where she taught 7th grade math and 8th grade Algebra for 13 years.

“I wanted to get back to working with older students,” Siewert says. “I don’t do well with staying with one thing for a long time. I was becoming stationary. The repetition was getting old, and I wanted to challenge myself with different grade levels.”

Siewert began teaching in general because she enjoyed making connections and building relationships with students, and she stayed in math to help kids who were like her when she was younger. “Math was always difficult for me as a student,” she said. “I know what it means to work hard and struggle to understand problems. Becoming a math teacher allowed me to work with students of all abilities and present material in a way that made sense to everyone.”

Going from middle school to high school was a big jump. “There’s a huge difference in maturity level,” Siewert says. “And I’m excited to work more with young adults and build those relationships with them. High school students seem more involved in their grades and they take responsibility for their learning.”

When it comes to math, there are many components Siewert enjoys. “I like the structure of Algebra,” she says. “I’m also an artistic person. I like the spatial piece of Geometry, finding volume and surface area and such.”

Her experience and passion for helping students make Siewert a welcome member of the Camas High School community.