Growing up as the oldest of four homeschooled children, Sarah Betsch, a Turner Middle School teacher, learned at a young age that she had a knack for teaching. She and her siblings grew up in the mountains, spending much of their time outdoors learning from their mother, who stayed home with them.
“We did a lot of learning at our own pace and style,” Sarah recalls. “I enjoyed helping my younger siblings with school, so I knew I wanted to go into education.”
Sarah obtained her degree from the University of Northern Colorado and did her student teaching at Turner. She discovered a passion for special education and sought a career working with children who have mild to moderate learning challenges.
“I had a couple of friends growing up who had different learning or health needs. I didn’t want to go into nursing, but I was always drawn to helping people who needed extra help. Special ed was the equivalent of that in education,” Sarah says. “I was offered a job [at Turner] and I wasn’t so sure about middle school, but the longer I have been here, the more I’ve started to enjoy it. I appreciate working with kids who are still young but are old enough that you can build a meaningful relationship with them.”
Sarah Betsch is now in her seventh year at TMS, where she works in the Learning Center with students who she describes as having learning difficulties or who have low confidence, especially with their reading and writing. She enters classrooms with her students to serve as a co-teacher for those who benefit from extra support.
“We work with the students who might have challenges academically or socially, and we are able to help them see that they can advocate for themselves,” Sarah says. “Even though they might have that label of having a disability, they each have strengths that they bring to the classroom and can bring to the outside world someday. We figure out what the balance is between helping them know what their limitations are, but not letting those limitations stop them from making growth.”
Sarah Betsch Helps Students Discover Their Potential
Sarah Betsch is committed to bringing out each student’s unique interest and helping them to focus on that rather than the things they can’t do.
“Relationships are huge at the middle school level,” she explains. “My students have a hard time working if they don’t see that you are invested in them as a person. Building that relationship with them as individuals and taking the time to listen and get to know them … when you do that, helping them becomes not so much a battle but more that you have their trust.”
Sarah says Turner Middle School and its Learning Center work hard to provide a valuable learning experience for every student, and that she considers it a huge blessing to be a part of the team.
“What’s unique about Turner, it’s a small enough school that you can get to know everyone here,” she says. “Our staff is very close-knit and we work really well together. We are one staff working toward a common goal.”
In addition to teaching, Sarah enjoys coaching Turner’s cross-country team and serving as the advisor for the running club. She also spends time working with youth in her church, teaching several children’s programs there, and says that she now knows she is working with the perfect population of students for her skills.
“The longer I’m here, the more I see the unique, fun side of the kids,” she says. “They’re still young enough to be kids and enjoy the simplicity of life, but they also are starting to think like younger adults and develop deeper thinking skills. They don’t even realize how funny they are. They ask real-life questions, and they have the patience and curiosity to wait for the answers.”
