KROX will introduce you to new teachers and a Crookston Public School District principal throughout the week. Today, we introduce you to two new hires in the Crookston Middle School: Special Education teacher Wyatt Ecklund and Science teacher Abigail Crisman.
WYATT ECKLUND
As an eighth-grade special education teacher, Wyatt Ecklund is entering his first year in the Crookston Public School District. Ecklund, a Lake of the Woods native, graduated from Baudette High School before studying at Bemidji State University, where he received his degree in Secondary Education with a mathematics emphasis in the winter of 2021.
Ecklund chose Crookston due to family members being from the area and his fiancé having those same ties. Originally, Ecklund was hired on to the Crookston High School staff to teach mathematics, and the district was in dire need of a particular education instructor in the middle school. This is the first specific education position Ecklund has received, and Ecklund has shown appreciation for the staff that have helped him so far during the process. “This is a huge learning curve, but luckily, there are a lot of beneficial teachers here that stop in a couple of times a day,” said Ecklund, “They make sure everything is okay and see if I have any questions and if I do they get answered right away.”
Along with Ecklund’s teaching position, he would also like to stay involved with the community and eventually start coaching athletics throughout the district. “I enjoy Volleyball, golf, hockey,” said Ecklund, “So one of those three would be awesome to get my foot in the door and start coaching.”
ABIGAIL CRISMAN
Abigail Crisman is entering her first year in the Crookston School District, and Crisman, like others in the district, will be teaching a subject for the first time. Crisman, a Bemidji native, attended the University of North Dakota and received her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education in 2016, and later received her master’s degree in Reading Education in 2018.
This is the first science position Crisman has received, and they stated how this
change requires quite an adjustment. “I may sound silly saying this, but I’ve been trying to stretch my brain back to what we do in science in middle school and High school,” said Crisman, “In elementary, its fundamental concepts when we cover it, but this is more advanced.”
There were many positive reasons for taking this position. Crisman has been a resident of Crookston for the past five years with her spouse and has commuted to her recent teaching position in East Grand Forks. She also has ties to the current CMS principal, Cierra Hangsleben. “Cierra Hangsleben asked me to come from East Grand Forks,” said Crisman, “That was three weeks before school started, and we live here, so it’s nice not to have to commute.”
