New math teacher starts at Havre High School

A math teacher has traveled to Montana to start the new school year teaching at Havre High School.

"I'm excited to meet the students and get to meet more of the staff," Katie Kopp said. "I've met a couple of the math teachers here and I've met the PE/football coach here, so I've met a couple people here so I'm just excited to start creating that community and get to know the people here." 

She said she grew up in Portland, Oregon, and attended Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington.

She received her bachelor's degree in mathematics and secondary education, and her master's degree in education in  curriculum and instruction, she said. 

After college, she said, she taught for five years in Kent, Washington, then moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where she taught math at Washington High School and had been there for the last 13 years.

Her husband, Corey Kopp, is the new dean of Students at Montana State University-Northern.

Katie Kopp said she runs her classes in a very communicative fashion.

"Even though it's math, we try to talk the math, see the math, feel the math and just be immersed in the math," Kopp said.

She said that things are going to look different if Havre Public Schools goes back to remote learning.

Last year, she said, she learned a lot about blended learning, which is bringing technology and work outside of the classroom and the classroom together.

She said she knows that she is going to see her students a lot less, adding that she is figuring out robust and interesting enough assignments that they can do outside to get that practice and still be able to talk math.

"Even though I can be a scary math teacher, and I understand that, if you ever have any questions or anything I'm really open and receptive to emails or meetings or whatever because I want everybody to understand math," Kopp said. "It's not the nuts and bolts in the math. I just want them to be able to think mathematically. I want all my kids to be successful."