Sociology teacher takes on new post as administrator

With the coming of the new semester, students as well as teachers face changes in their daily schedules. One of the people who faced the biggest changes is Casey Denten. At the end of the semester, Ashely Barna resigned as dean of students to pursue a new career, which led to Denten changing her position.
“The job was offered to me on the last day of first semester,” Denten said. For the past six years, Denten taught sociology and human geography. When she took on her new position, someone else began teaching those classes instead of her.
Denten’s new position is officially called “Interim Dean of Students”.
“I am responsible for handing out discipline to a variety of letters and supporting students. I make sure they can have a safe and effective learning environment by helping monitor behavior,” Denten said. When teaching, she primarily only saw the good sides of students, but handing out disciplinary actions showed her a different side of the student body.
“I miss the positive interactions with students. I still get some positive interactions but I also get way more negative than I ever had as a teacher,” Denten said.
Though this is a change for Denten, she is well-equipped. When in college, she got her undergrad degree in teaching in history and English, with masters on top of that in teaching and teacher leadership. The teacher leadership aides her in her new administrative work. She’s also getting a new degree that she feels will improve her work.
“I’m back in school right now working on a degree in teachers administration,” Denten said. “So I’m actively learning how to do this job.”
Even though she already had a degree in teachers leadership, this new job still took her by surprise, and sometimes she misses teaching.
“I miss the energy of standing in front of the classroom,” Denten said. “I loved my content, especially sociology, so I miss that a lot.”
Not only does she miss teaching, but she feels more comfortable in that position. Administrative work is new for her, and her past years have only been filled with teaching.
“Teaching is definitely more comfortable because I’m more proficient in it,” Denten said. “This [administrative work] is more of a challenge for me because I’m still learning.”
Though this job is new, Denten is learning on her feet. She is constantly working and in meetings with parents and students in order to improve the behavior of the student body.
“It’s really helping me to grow,” Denten said. She will be finishing the rest of the 2017-2018 term as the Interim Dean of Students.