Dodson Public Schools welcomes three new teachers

Dodson Public School welcomes three new teachers to their educational family this school year, two new faces and one who has spent a lot of time as a Coyote.

"I was a substitute teacher here for the last four years," said Francine Stiffarm. "And I was born in Dodson and went to school here from K to 12."

Stiffarm is the new business and physical education at Dodson. She received her teaching degree from MSU Northern in 2008. Stiffarm and her husband, ZZ, have three children, two of which attend the school she now teaches fulltime.

"It is awesome," she said. "It is wonderful to be able to come back to the school where I received my education.

Besides teaching, Stiffarm said she enjoys spending time with her children, playing basketball and spending time with her husband, Lyle, a Marine Corp Veteran.

Bill Folgelman also joins the Dodson teaching staff this year.

Fogelman comes to Dodson via Cut Bank where he and his wife taught at a Hutterite School for the past four years. Fogelman teaches elementary education at Dodson and has been an educator for the past five years. He received his teaching degree from Eastern Washington University located in Cheney, Wash.

Folgelman is originally from New Mexico and he was in the United States Navy for four years. When away from teaching he said he enjoys spending time with his family – he and his wife have a daughter -- and horses, camping, and fishing.

"If it is outdoors," he said. "I enjoy doing it. I love the outdoors."

Charity Ruiz-Hebert is the third new addition to Dodson Schools. She moved to Phillips County last April to join her husband – Mark, author of this story – as he started a new job in the area. Before coming to Dodson, Ruiz-Hebert taught for six years at Superior Elementary in Superior, Mont. She teaches fifth and sixth grades at Dodson and is the school's librarian.

Ruiz-Hebert received her teaching degree from Western Governors University and her library degree from Montana State University. Her hobbies include spending time with her family – the couple has an 11-year-old daughter who also attends Dodson Schools – and she enjoys gardening.

"It is an honor to work at Dodson Schools and I couldn't be happier here," she said.