Students, teachers excited for school in Sioux Falls

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – The time has come once again for goodbye hugs and cheers as Sioux Falls students head back into the classroom.

But it’s not just the students who are excited.

This year the Sioux Falls School District has 148 new teachers.

“I’m just looking forward to meeting my students and building those relationships, getting to know the school,” Sydney Cork, a new fifth-grade teacher at RF Pettigrew, said. “I’m just excited, I’m ready. I’m eager to learn.”

Hoping to inspire the kids like the teachers in their lives did.

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“When I was in school, I had a lot of teachers that impacted me in a positive way,” Drew Van Regenmorter, a new third-grade teacher at RF Pettigrew, said. “They made me want to come to school, they made it engaging, exciting. Just kind of made it a safe space and that’s what I strive to do for my students.”

And for all students heading back to the classroom, these new teachers have some advice:

“Don’t be scared, we’re here for you,” Van Regenmorter said.

“Don’t be nervous, everybody’s nervous, even the teachers are nervous. Be yourself, have fun and just smile and have a good year,” Cork said.

The 148 new hires in the Sioux Falls School District include 59 elementary teachers, 34 high school teachers and 31 middle school teachers.