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Krueger Middle School’s Teresa Whitney stands atop the Rocky Mountains. In addition to teaching eighth grade math, she is an avid outdoors enthusiast.
KMS math teacher educates with strength and determination
By Abigail Shanks
Staff writer
MICHIGAN CITY – Teresa Whitney didn’t want to be a teacher, let alone a math one.
She was inspired to teach partly because she met a teacher and knew she could be a better teacher than her.
Whitney is an 8th grade math and algebra teacher that strives for her students’ success and works hard to give her students the best education possible.
She grew up in a household with six other kids and always felt like she didn’t belong.
Her family didn’t have a lot of money. Her dad was a mill worker and her mom didn’t work, so they didn’t have a lot of things in the house. However, the struggle helped develop her character.
“It made me stronger and it made me who the person I am today,” Whitney said
In school, she had a hard time with math.
“When I was in school, I struggled with math because I didn’t think letters should be in math,” she said.
After graduating high school, Whitney didn’t go straight into teaching. She actually only started teaching when she started volunteering at a school and really enjoyed it. She realized she could be a great teacher.
She didn’t originally start working at Krueger. She first worked at Portage Township Schools as a special education teacher for 18 years. For 13 of those years, she taught algebra.
She started teaching at KMS in 2019, but had to take some time off to look after her parents. Whitney then went back to Krueger in 2021.
Her former student, Michigan City High School sophomore Iyanna Adkins, talked about the relationships Whitney builds with her students.
“She strives to get a bond with her students and just makes it known that she’s always there for her students if they need anything.” Iyanna said.
Whitney loves doing things after school for her students, including helping out with the Haunted Halls and being the leader of this year’s first-ever winter semi-formal at Krueger.
Outside of school, Whitney also does a lot.
“My life outside of work is just as crazy as my life at work.” Whitney said.
She has two kids, one son and one daughter, and grandchildren. She enjoys helping them out with their lives. She has a lot of interesting hobbies, including gardening, hiking and other stuff outdoors. She also plays bingo with her daughter.
Whitney has a lot of big goals for her future, including going to all the national parks in the country.
“I would like to go to all 63 national parks,” she said. “I’ve been to 27 and I would like to do the rest of them.” she said.
While she will be traveling elsewhere, many are happy to see her continue her journey at Krueger.
“I know that she’s got several more years ahead of her, I know that she wants to participate in education and I hope that those years ahead of her are what she wants to be,” said her colleague, Janine Peo. “Because we are blessed to have her in our school and our community.”