Tony Speltz, the only new teacher at Luverne Public Schools for the 2015-16 school year, knew before he graduated from Cotter High School in Winona that he was going to be a high school social studies teacher.
Social studies, he explained, teaches students how to interact and collaborate with others, a life skill he wants to pass on to other students
“By the time I was a senior, I wanted to pay it back,” he said.
Speltz grew up in Winona County’s Rollingstone, but he found himself in the extreme southwest corner of the state when former LHS teacher Derrick Brown tenured his resignation effective Aug. 11.
Speltz, 24, began Aug. 17 in Luverne, his first teaching position.
He will instruct high school political science, economics, world history and sports history, a curriculum Brown developed before his departure earlier this month.
Speltz attended St. Mary’s University, Winona, majoring in history and social studies with a minor in music. He also earned a master’s in instruction, also at St. Mary’s.