White replacing Kellerstrass at MHS

By Editor | June 6, 2017 |

Patricia White

Maryville had a quick turnaround for one of their high school math teacher positions.

During a special meeting Wednesday afternoon, the Maryville R-II School Board accepted the resignation of high school math teacher and wrestling coach Connor Kellerstrass. He also coached volleyball at Maryville High, is leaving to accept an open math teaching position at Plattsburg High School.

“I loved my time at Maryville High School, and Maryville has been my home for nine years since I got here to attend college,” said Kellerstrass, a Cameron native. “I couldn’t ask for a better experience.

“I’m just ready for something different, another challenge, and to go back closer to family and friends. It’s time for a new direction in my life.”

Kellerstrass earned his bachelor’s degree from Northwest Missouri State University in 2012 and was hired at Maryville out of college. While he will teach, coaching opportunities are still in the air at the time of printing.

“He will be a tough one to replace,” Maryville activities director Mat Beu said of Kellerstrass. “He is a young, enthusiastic guy. He worked hard to grow the wrestling program in Maryville. He spends a lot of time organizing offseason workouts. He is really supports of kids getting stronger in the weight room and being all-around better athletes. He will be definitely be sorely missed.”

He guided three Maryville grapplers to the state tournament this past season. Matt Twaddle took third place for the Spoofhounds.

Kellerstrass became coach for the 2014-’15 season, replacing Joe Drake, who guided the Spoofhounds from 1974-2014.

Beu is now tasked with finding a new head coach later than normal in the hiring process.

“It can be tough, but I think there is enough wrestling enthusiast around this community we should be able to fill it,” Beu said. “We are looking for someone that will be a program-building. Someone that is passionate about the sport and loves working with young people. That is the top of our list for what we are looking for in a wrestling coach.”

Maryville wasted no time in hiring Kellerstrass’ teaching replacement, as Patricia White was hired to take over Kellerstrass’ classroom. White will be leaving her position at West Nodaway to take the job.

“I’m excited to be a Spoofhound, which is pretty interesting,” White said. “I went to Benton High School, and we were always against Maryville.

“It will be nice to work a little closer to home and be able to be closer to my family here. I’m excited for this new opportunity.”

White was hired 10 years ago to teach high school math at West Nodaway, also right out of college. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northwest in 2006 and 2008, respectively, both to teach math.

“I avoided the desire to become a teacher at first, because my mom was a teacher and I knew they didn’t make much,” White said. “But as I started to think about what I wanted to be, I thought back to fourth grade, when my teacher had me help teach other students in math, and I realized that God had given me a gift for teaching.

“So, I enrolled in cadet teaching at Benton, and when I found out I was really good at it, I followed God’s lead and decided to make a career out of it. I also got the chance to supervise the Cadet Teaching program at West Nodaway.”

White will be teaching classes such as College Statistics, Algebra 1B, and Finite Math at Maryville.

She said she would miss the students at West Nodaway.

“Near the end of the year, when they found out about the teachers who were leaving, they kept telling me not to go,” White said. “It will be a little sad that I’m one of the teachers leaving as well.

“It’s important for me to be close to family, but I’m excited to get to know the students of Maryville. They make it worthwhile; they’re why I keep teaching.”

During the mid-day special meeting, the Maryville R-II Board of Education also hired Barrett Hudson to be a level one technology support specialist and added Josh Lefeber to their roster of hourly summer school teachers.