Jan Staeheli

About Mrs. Staeheli

My initial choice of an occupation was to be a social worker. That is why one of my majors is Sociology. Half way through Gonzaga University, I realized that I did not have interest in this occupation any longer and found education more appealing. Thus my second major – Education. I was invited to help establish and teach Kindergarten at Cataldo in the spring of 1975 to begin in September of 1975. I had previously established a Pre-school, 3 years before, and taught 3 and 4-year-old children. My three daughters attended Cataldo at the time. My husband and I had decided Cataldo was the school for our family after visiting others. It was a very natural move for me to begin teaching at a school that I had been associated with for years. We were impressed with the religious aspect and secondly felt it offered sound academic programs. The staff was very professional and friendly. This is still true today. I am sure Sister Betty McClellan (my first principal!) did not realize that she had hired someone that would find teaching Kindergarten one of the best jobs a person could have. It has been a joy to teach for Cataldo for 26 years as the Kindergarten teacher, and now it seems I have come full circle back to Pre School. I chose to say yes to a job that has proved to be challenging, fun, invigorating and faith building. What more could a person ask for? You can reach me at jstaeheli@cataldo.org.