With the closing of the Patagonia Montessori Elementary School this spring, Patagonia Elementary picked up not only many of their pupils, but also a teacher. Kara Haas, who was working as an elementary guide for grades 1-3 at the Montessori School, now fills the first-grade teaching position at Patagonia Elementary.
And even though Hass only worked at the Montessori as a teacher for about a year, she brings a wealth of other experience with her — over 25 years of teaching outside the classroom as well as working as an environmental professional. She holds an associate’s degree in Theatre, a Bachelors in Geology and a Masters in Hydrogeology from Illinois State University. “I’ve done a lot of training and I’ve had a lot of training to do that, so that does translate well to teaching kids.”
She came to Patagonia in 2020 as compliance manager at South 32. Even in that role she found herself teaching: “I helped them build compliance systems to make sure they were dotting all the i’s, checking t’s — all that to help learn about and then put systems in place to protect the environment.”
“I love the school. The campus is beautiful every day. I intentionally use the furthest printer just so I can walk by and see the mountains.”
Kara Haas
Haas is pleased with her new position. “At Montessori, I had first through third grade, so it was a little bit harder in some aspects because I had to give a lot of one-on-one attention,’’ she said. “There was everything you needed in the classroom, but it didn’t necessarily show you how to teach it. Even though Jesse Beebe (the principal) was very helpful, I found myself on YouTube a lot.”
Things are different for her at Patagonia Elementary. She explained: “I would say one thing better is it is a bigger school. There’s a much larger support network. The culture is not the same. They assigned me a mentor right away, Audrey Doles.
“Everybody’s really got your back here, and they want to help each other out. If you have a question or need help, everyone is so nice.”
That is not to say starting her new job has been easy. “Most challenging part I would say it’s just like being a first-year anything,” she said. “It’s drinking water from a firehouse — learning all the new curriculum, learning all the kids, learning how everything works, getting printer access. Everything is new!” she said.
The campus get high marks from Haas. “I love the school,” she said. “The campus is beautiful every day. I intentionally use the furthest printer just so I can walk by and see the mountains … The culture is wonderful. Kids are kids. It’s the environment. the people, the campus. It’s all the little stuff. I have food allergies, like everywhere I’ve ever worked. I never partook in food. But here … like the staff has gone above and beyond to make sure I was included and my allergies are addressed. That inclusiveness translates to the kids, how inclusive (the staff) is with everyone.”
Haas described her class as “Energetic!” She laughed, “First grade is so energetic, especially beginning the school year. It isn’t as much about the curriculum, but when they come out of kindergarten, they really haven’t been in a structured class. l have to get them ready for second grade, so a lot of it is about like how do you take a test. I’m trying to show them the skills of how (to) succeed in the classroom, to succeed with graded assignments and testing.”
When she gets settled into her position, Haas hopes to expand into helping the school outside the classroom. She said, “I’ve got a lot of training with emergency response. I told (assistant principal) Michael Young I’d help him with an incident command.”
And then there is her first love, theater. “I don’t know how it can work out because high school is on a totally different schedule, but I’ll help anywhere the school needs help in the theater,” she said.
Kindness and community are at the core of her philosophy and a major focus for these beginning weeks. “For the first six weeks, I was mostly just showing them in the class how to practice spelling words or things like that or really reminding them to stay on task,” she said. “I explain why we talk a lot about community and helping each other. At this age it’s all about me, me, me … It’s totally natural. (We’re) practicing being kind, sharing and learning to work with partners. I believe that is so important.”
Haas is currently teaching under an Arizona Department of Education Emergency Teaching Elementary K-8 Certificate. This certificate allows individuals to enter into a full-time elementary (K-8) teaching contract while working toward standard certification. She has several years to meet the qualifications for full certification.