Jennifer “Jenny” Karbler’s occupational journey is intertwined with her love of academics, sports and the Portage community. In her past and present roles as a teacher and coach, Karbler exudes great intentionality in creating a fun learning environment for her students at Willow Creek Middle School (Willow Creek).
“Portage has always been my home,” said Karbler. “A lot of what makes me never want to leave is the people I work with. We have been through many ups and downs together at Willow Creek, and they have all been there for me. The kids are great and everyone has made me fall in love with this place so much, like Eric Schmiedl, who makes me laugh all the time. It’s our family network that has kept me here.”
Karbler’s love of teaching formed during her early years as a student in Portage Township Schools. Karbler would later graduate from Portage High School in 1999 and go on to achieve her degree in secondary education in social studies. Willow Creek hired Karbler for her first teaching role.
“I knew what I wanted to do ever since middle school,” said Karbler. “I had a really good social studies teacher, Bruce Fawochka. My teacher at Fegely Middle School, Jim Martz, also got me into wanting to be a teacher. They inspired me to bring cool activities to life in the classroom. I ended up teaching the same subjects that Mr. Bruce taught, and we later became colleagues in our respective schools. We were able to do a lot of stuff I did as a kid but advanced and computerized them to promote hands-on learning.”
Karbler has entered into her 19th academic year at Willow Creek. For 17 of those years, Karbler taught seventh grade social studies.
“I did my student teaching here at Willow Creek under Myron Fessler, who was an amazing man,” said Karbler. “I learned great things from him. In my classroom for social studies, I really enjoyed bringing to life different cultures. I’m such a visual learner, and it brought me joy to find different ways for the kids to learn.”
Karbler strove to be creative in teaching her subject matter but ultimately decided to shift her career path.
“After teaching one subject for 17 years straight, I knew I needed a bit of change,” said Karbler. “I entered physical education (P.E.) two years ago. I’m getting my groove, especially after being a coach and playing sports for many years.”
Karbler formerly worked at the Boys & Girls Club during her college years and began coaching immediately within the school system. Karbler’s switch to teach P.E. complemented her long-standing positions in athletics.
“I played sports and coached through Portage,” said Karbler. “I played volleyball, basketball, track and softball in high school. After graduating, I coached volleyball, basketball and track for the middle school. I coached at the high school level for volleyball. I was a freshman and junior varsity coach and varsity assistant at one point. Then, I coached freshman basketball for a bit, and I did seventh grade Girls Basketball at Willow Creek and Fegely. I have always been oriented around working with kids.”
In both of her teaching roles, Karbler emphasizes the importance of incorporating games, cooperative-learning activities and social-emotional learning (SEL) into her students’ lessons.
“P.E is so different from a classroom where chaos is controlled,” said Karbler, “I do have a sixth grade advisory class in an actual classroom. We try to do different projects there, and I keep my room colorful. We next move into the gym where I have all eighth graders this semester. We do lots of different activities like basketball, pickleball, and I even tried to bring in some yoga, which they were not into. I provide basic instructions to keep them safe and secure. I’m constantly watching them, and it’s a lot of fun. It has been a good change.”
Karbler attributes her integration of cooperative learning activities to the success she has seen in her own home. Karbler’s children often do team-building activities together, especially in light of holiday seasons and previously during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I come from a little bit of a blended family,” said Karbler. “I have two daughters, two step-daughters and a step-son. What I tend to bring home is a lot of games and challenges to promote cooperative learning. I often take the role of game master and, as a family, we do these SEL games. Back in the classroom, I would try to incorporate these activities into social studies, like we did with irrigation and ancient civilizations. My hope for my kids and my students would be that they enjoy and understand these concepts better.”
Outside of her work in the classroom, Karbler co-sponsors the National Junior Honor Society. She is also very invested in her children’s extracurriculars, including her daughter’s acceptance into Valparaiso High School’s Varsity Singers. In her free time, she is always thrilled to meet up with old colleagues and spend time with her family and friends.
In reflection of her career as an educator, Karbler resonates with the connections she has made with all of her past and present students.
“The biggest difference between teaching in the classroom and teaching P.E. is that I get more one-on-one time with my students to build a stronger connection to them,” said Karbler. “I do miss that, but with P.E. I do get to see a whole different side of students that I might not have ever seen in the classroom.”