GPS Welcomes Nine New Teachers For 2026-27

  • New teachers joining the staff at Gothenburg Public Schools for the 2026-27 school year are, seated, from left: Brianda Powers, Karissa Blecha, Chesney Bartlett, Abby Klemmensen, and Sarah Anderson; Back row: Riley Freeland, Patrick Mattfeld, Gray Gruber, Aidan Zaro, and elementary art student teacher Reese Girdner, a student from UNK. (Leader photo by Ellen Mortensen)
    New teachers joining the staff at Gothenburg Public Schools for the 2026-27 school year are, seated, from left: Brianda Powers, Karissa Blecha, Chesney Bartlett, Abby Klemmensen, and Sarah Anderson; Back row: Riley Freeland, Patrick Mattfeld, Gray Gruber, Aidan Zaro, and elementary art student teacher Reese Girdner, a student from UNK. (Leader photo by Ellen Mortensen)

    Classes resume at Gothenburg Public Schools on Wednesday, Aug. 19, and this year nine new teachers will be joining the GPS family. The new teachers were introduced to the campus on Aug. 3, when they had their first day of orientation.

    For two of the teachers, however, Swede Orientation was not an introduction to GPS - it was a homecoming. Karissa Blecha and Chesney Bartlett are both natives of Gothenburg and graduates of the school where they will now be teaching.

    Blecha will serve as the district’s junior high ELA and elective teacher. “I knew from a young age that I wanted to be a teacher,” said Blecha. “I love kids and love helping them grow into the best versions of themselves!”

    A graduate of Grace University with a degree in elementary education, Blecha taught at Fremont for two years. “…