👋Help us give a warm Putnam County R-I welcome to Mrs. Angela Smith! Angela will be serving our district in elementary special education.

We asked Angela to tell us a little more about her family, hobbies, and educational journey. Here's what she had to say:

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦"My husband Kevin and I are blessed to have two wonderful kids. Faith is a junior at Truman State University studying English, Japanese, and Applied Linguistics. Hunter will be a sophomore at PCHS.

💙Kevin and I were born and raised in Washington State. About ten years ago, we decided to move to Missouri to

enjoy a rural lifestyle change.

🏃‍♀️My journey to becoming an educator began with my love for sports and fitness. Since I could walk, I’ve been an athlete. Starting at age three with skiing on the mountain passes with my dad to running and competing against adults in 5k’s starting at age 8. I’m thankful that I had so many amazing teachers and coaches growing up who helped me on my path. My favorite teacher, Mr. Ingles, encouraged me to pursue my passion for fitness at age 15 after I was in his weight training class. In 1990, only boys took weights and girls took aerobics, but not me. With his guidance, I became a personal trainer at age 17. Several teachers encouraged me to pursue a career in education, alongside Physical Education/Fitness. So, I did.💪

In college, I did personal training and I worked at a group home for special needs adults. I was involved in adaptive PE and Special Olympics. I enjoyed it so much that I changed my minor from English to Special Education.

👩‍🎓I graduated from Central Washington University. I taught at my 4A alumni school and was voted “Natural Helper Teacher of the Year” by the students. This was a great honor, because only one teacher received this award, and I received it during my first year of teaching. I enjoyed teaching in public school, but I was thankful to be able to stay home to raise my children and homeschool them for several years.

🤍I have a passion for helping others and serving my community. I started Fitness for Christ in Putnam County about ten years ago, and it’s still going strong today. I’ve also been the Putnam County Health Educator. You might see me out and about in the evenings running, working out, and training people.

👩‍🏫I’m excited to get back into the classroom, teaching K-5 Special Education. I’m a hard worker, honest, compassionate, and a team player, with a heart to serve. I knew there was a need for educators in our community, so I decided to step up and fill the need. My goal is to do the best that I can for each of my students while keeping a positive attitude and classroom environment. I hope to have a positive impact on my student’s lives, like so many of

my teachers had in mine."

🤍Welcome to PCR-I, Mrs. Angela Smith!

#PutnamProud