A Portage Life in the Spotlight: Theresa Evans

ltm-theresa-evansBeing a teacher is one of the most important, challenging, yet rewarding careers one could have, and Theresa Evans, second grade teacher at Kyle Elementary School, savors those rewarding moments when students come back to visit as adults.

“There have been so many great moments,” said Evans, a lifelong resident of Portage. “My favorite are when former students come back and visit. Recently, one of them that visits regularly came back with a baby in her arms. I love to see what they have been doing since I taught them in elementary school.”

Evans has been at Kyle for 12 years after a pair of brief stints at Ellsworth and Crisman elementary schools after receiving a degree from Indiana University. She plans to remain at her current position for years to come.

“Kyle is my home,” she said. ‘We have a great staff, great kids and this is where I’d like to retire someday.”

But while helping others develop educationally is now clearly Evans’ passion, it has not always been that way.

“I haven’t always known I wanted to teach,” she said. “I used to see myself in an office job or in business management. But cadet teaching while in High School really made me fall in love with it.”

Cadet teaching, at Portage High School, is where students spend an hour or two each day to help teachers at the local elementary schools.

“I was actually a cadet for Mrs. Miller, my first grade teacher,” Evans recalls. “She inspired me quite a bit, and I enjoyed my time learning in her classroom.”

Cadet teaching is used as a tool to make sure those interested in High School actually would like to work in the classroom as a career. In Evans’ case, it was a way to bring in a future leader with a passion for helping others.

Evans was recognized during the 2013 Portage High School ACES (Academic Champions Excelling in School) ceremony which recognized the to 30 students in the Class of 2013 based on grade point average. Each student was asked to thank a teacher they had that made a difference in their lives.

Emily Evans chose who else, but her second grade teacher.

“Mrs. Evans was my second grade teacher and was the first one to wrangle my creative imagination for the greater good by encouraging me to write,” Emily Evans said at the banquet.

In addition to developing future leaders in the classroom, Evans has recently become more involved with the community as a coach for the “Girls on the Run” program, a club for third, fourth and fifth grade girls with the intent on training them to run a 5K. The program helps young girls improve their self-esteem, confidence and teaches them how to deal with issues such as peer pressure.

“I was never a runner, this was just something a friend asked me to do. Once I started I loved it,” Evans said. “When the club ends, the girls are physically and emotionally prepared to run the 5K.”

The coaching experience, although she has only done it for one year so far, is another rewarding aspect of Evans’ life.

“Some girls have trouble running a mile when they begin, and end up running the 5K (3.1 miles) by the time the program ends,” Evans said. "It is most definitely quite an accomplishment for the girls. They just blossom emotionally.”

Evans feels blessed that not only is she doing what she loves, she is doing it in Portage, a place she loves.

“I was only looking (for teaching jobs) in the area, so when something opened up, I jumped on it,” she said.