Rebecca Meier      PROPEL Instructor (1-3)

Rebecca Meier has been an educator with South Sioux City Community Schools since 2001.  Prior to joining the PROPEL Academy Rebecca was a special education teacher for students with autism spectrum disorders. She now serves as one of the district’s Enrichment Specialists.

Twice per quarter, Rebecca provides enrichment activities to all students in grades 1-3, delivering lessons that focus on thinking skills such as: divergent, convergent, and evaluative thinking, and visual/spatial perception. She also delivers higher level thinking lessons to small groups at those same grade levels twice per quarter. The P.E.T.S. curriculum, (Primary Education Thinking Skills), is used for the enrichment instruction at these grade levels. In addition to the lessons, Rebecca provides consultation to teachers and enrichment resources to each elementary building.

Outside of her position with the PROPEL Academy, Rebecca serves as the school district’s Certified Crisis Prevention Intervention Instructor. In her own time she volunteers monthly with the Siouxland Autism Support Group.

Kristi Wilshire    PROPEL Instructor (4-5)

Kristi Wilshire became the 4th and 5th grade PROPEL instuctor in 2007.  After teaching 3rd grade for the South Sioux City School district for seven years, she states "I was ready for some new challenges in my teaching career and it has been such a positive experience so far."  Kristi received her Bachelor's Degree from Briar Cliff in 2000 and completed her Master's Degree from Wayne State in 2005. She has four children and loves spending her extra time with them.  Her educational goals for the current year are to challenge her students to think and learn  at the highest level they possibly can while having fun with the process.  Kristi encourages open communication among parents, co-teachers and herself, in order to provide the best educational opportunities for SSC students.

Cassandra Joseph    PROPEL Instructor (6-8)

 Cassandra Joseph is in charge of the PROPEL program at the Middle School. She provides many enriching activities for grades 6-8, as well as teaching higher level math and reading classes.

Cassandra has a Bachelor’s of Science in Secondary Mathematics Education with a minor in Spanish from the University of South Dakota and a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Wayne Sate College . She has taught for 14 years which include 6 years at South Sioux City .  Cassandra has taught a variety of classes, including Introductory Spanish, general mathematics, pre-algebra, algebra 1 and 2 and geometry. She has coached many academic teams including Knowledge Master, Math Counts, Quiz Bowl, and Academic Fitness.  In addition to teaching, Cassandra chaperones Student Ambassador Programs on overseas trips during the summer and helps the athletic department by line judging volleyball games and running the score/clock during athletic events.