Ms. Baranczyk

Student teaching is a common required stepping stone for many young educators and is something seen quite often. That being said, to start the 2019-2020 school year, OHS has an unusually high number of college students sitting in on classes. Ms. Sara Baranczyk is one of five student teachers that will be starting the school year as a member of team OHS.

Although originally from St. Paul, MN, Ms. Baranczyk has lived in Mankato for the last five years while attending Minnesota State University, Mankato. During this time, Ms. Baranczyk has been busy completing her double major in physics and English. As a junior in high school, Ms. Baranczyk knew she was meant for the classroom, what she didn’t know was what classroom was meant for her. Over the course of these next few months, Ms. Baranczyk will be spending time in both physics and English rooms in preparation for either job that may present itself down the line. 

Being a teacher means bearing a big load, juggling everything from the classroom to the curriculum, and spending hours outside of school preparing and grading papers. With this comes a certain level of fulfillment and pride. Ms. Baranczyk said, “The best part about teaching for me is those moments when a student finally clicks with a concept that they’ve been struggling with. It’s the coolest thing to see someone get excited about what they’re learning.” Outside of the classroom, Ms. Baranczyk loves to enjoy the beauty of the outdoors, camping, hiking and going on bike rides. When she’s not outside, reading and cooking are a couple of her go-to hobbies.

Ms. Baranczyk has enjoyed her time at the OHS thus far. She said, “So far I love it, I think it’s a really great community where everyone knows everyone. The students are really fun to work with and the staff is great.”  Ms. Baranczyk plans on student teaching here at OHS through December.