Standing outside the EEE classroom, Caysea Dachroeden stood welcoming students in. Her room, a warm friendly environment, embraces students and visitors.
Dachroeden is a very open person that is kind to everyone, even if they have never met her. She loves playing games and talking to her students, but she always makes sure they are getting work done.
“[Dachroeden] is like more than willing to take time out of her day and check in with her students and make sure they’re on track,” Miles Randolph (10) said.
Dachroeden teaches four different classes and often has them all at the same time. Her classes include: Internship, Advanced Seminars and Investigaions, Advisory and Gifted Resource.
Dachroeden also hosts the Ethics Bowl and gets involved in a lot of the conversations. Last year, their team went to nationals and placed 24th out of 36 teams.
Before coming to Hickman, Dachroeden worked as a special education teacher. She spent 14 years in that field before starting to sponsor the Ethics Bowl team. After a while, Dachroeden was invited to teach EEE at Hickman.
It’s only been two years since then, and her students love her. They enjoy being in her class and love having Dachroeden as their teacher. She loves all her classes and motivates her students to be the best they can be.
“I truly love my students and want to work with them, which is nice,” Dachroeden said.“I don’t dread coming here. I am very happy to be here. I love it. That’s a great place to be in.”
Even though Dachroeden is newer to the EEE field of teaching, she still gets a lot of praise from her students.
“Dachroeden being so willing to have a personal connection with her students really allows for me to grow and become better at managing myself because I feel more engaged and I feel like I can actually talk to my teacher about my problems,” Miles said.
Even though her students mostly work independently, Dachroeden still strives to make her classroom a comfortable place for everyone. She sells snacks to her students, but puts the price where she does not profit. She also has two couches for optimal cozy work time and has lunch groups for her students so they can study before their next class.
“I don’t do things for personal profit, but I do want my students to benefit,” Dachroeden says about her snack drawer.
Finally, Dachroeden has some words of advice for the struggling EEE students, “Gifted doesn’t mean that you can do it yourself without being taught. Gifted doesn’t mean that you’re perfect,” she said.