At the beginning of the pandemic, many teachers began to post online speaking out about how they would not be returning to their classrooms, even after COVID-19 was no longer a threat. According to ABCnews.go.com, over 75 percent of states were facing a teacher shortage during the 2022-2023 school year. Omaha North is one of the schools affected by this shortage.  

 Despite many people insisting that teaching was not a profession even worth sticking to, Omaha North will be welcoming four new hires, all of which recently shadowed within Omaha Public Schools (OPS).  

 Vivien Dailey- Biology Teacher 

 Vivien Dailey plans to teach Biology and Honors Biology for the 2023-2024 school year. Dailey was inspired to teach by a teacher she met in her own high school at Burke. 

  “He helped me do something with my life and keep moving forward. And because of that I wanted to honor him by following in his footsteps and hopefully do the same for other students who were in my position.” said Dailey. 

 So far, Dailey describes her experience within the classroom as a lot of fun. 

 “There have been challenging times, but every day I learn something new and make a new connection with one of my students.” said Dailey. 

 One of the main things Dailey is looking forward to is having her own classroom to decorate. It is important to Dailey that her students receive the best from their learning environment.  

 “I take a lot of pride in my space,” said Dailey. “I hope to invite my students to contribute to their learning environment and develop pride in it as well as it becomes their own.”  

 Morgan Husmann- English Teacher  

 Morgan Husmann plans to teach English Literacy Skills, an English course where students focus on phonological awareness, narrative skills, vocabulary, letter knowledge and print awareness.  

 Hausmann taught at Omaha North for the first half of her student teaching and loved it. The tremendous amount of support from the English department and the student body allowed her to realize North was the school for her.  

 “All of the students I got to meet made me smile every day.” said Husmann.  

 Husmann was inspired by her mother, a fellow teacher. 

  “Her positivity and love for her students made me realize this is what I wanted to do as well.” said Husmann.  

 Kenya Lewis- English Teacher  

 Kenya Lewis is a former North student and plans to teach 10 and 11 grade English classes. Lewis loved the time she spent at Noth as a student. 

 “The teachers I had inspired me to be the best version of myself and I really like getting involved with the community.” said Lewis. 

 Originally, Lewis started college to pursue a healthcare occupation, but she took an education class at her university to get credit for a core class. Lewis loved the class more than her science classes and eventually began taking more and more education classes until she decided to change her major altogether.  Lewis describes student teaching as an eye-opening experience of what goes into being an educator. 

 “Although I’ve had my ups and downs, I can’t wait to take what I learned and create a great learning community with my soon to be students.” Lewis said. 

 Molly Schmeits- Journalism  

 Molly Schmeits will be teaching Omaha North’s journalism courses including newspaper, yearbook, digital and photojournalism. On top of being a former North student, Schmeits is a former newspaper staff member and will soon become the newspaper advisor.  

 Schmeits notes that she has enjoyed her time in the classroom while also learning a ton. 

  “I think that I have come so far this semester and I am excited for next year.” said Schmeits 

 Aside from her wonderful students and the amazing environment at North, Schmeits was inspired to teach because of her family. 

  “My mom is a kindergarten teacher and I have been around it my whole life.” Schmeits said. “I really enjoy helping students and being able to continue to learn at the same time.”