Bailey Griebel is a new 3rd Grade teacher here at Stambaugh Elementary School. She is originally from Gladstone, but she spent this past school year teaching 4th grade over in Ironwood. Ms. Griebel graduated from NMU back in 2019 with a degree in speech language pathology, but decided to go back and get her teaching degree and is so happy with her choice! In her spare time she loves to read, bake, camp, kayak, and spend time with family and friends. Her fiance and her wanted to move to Iron River to be closer to family. They love the U.P. and the Iron County area, so they are very excited to officially be members of this community and the Wykon family!

Mr. Dale Kemppainen is one of our new fourth-grade teachers. This is his first year as a fourth-grade teacher. Mr. Kemppainen had been working in the district for the past four years as a substitute. He has been married to his wife, Elizabeth, for 26 years and they have 6 kids together. Four of his children are Wykon alumni. Before becoming a teacher, he had many other professions. These include firefighter, EMT, police officer, Lieutenant in the United States Air Force and mostly recently golf course manager. An unfortunate accident caused him to have to give up being a police officer, but it opened a door for him to start substitute teaching, and he fell in love with teaching. He is looking forward to the future at Stambaugh Elementary.

Mr. Mason Gray is a long term substitute in 4th grade this year. He grew up in Warren, Michigan, just outside of Detroit. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education at Saginaw Valley State University. He moved to Bay City and taught in Saginaw before deciding to move his family north to Iron County. He took a job at what was then the Oldenburg Plant and spent the next decade mastering the craft of machining. He is involved with his church community. He joined his oldest daughter in the West End Players community theater group, and enjoyed being an officer on its Board of Directors for several years.

Ms. Lilly Griebel is our new math teacher. She attended Gladstone High School and furthered her education at Bay College and Northern Michigan University. This is her first year teaching. She likes to spend her time reading, playing piano and Guitar Hero, and spending time with her family and friends. A fun fact about Ms.Griebel is that she works at Camp Batawagama as a health officer and has even been a camp counselor to some of her students.

Ms. Stephanie Dye graduated from West Iron, and after high school she went to college at Northern Michigan University. She student taught here last winter. This year is her first year teaching. She enjoys hiking, rock climbing, and camping. A fun fact about Ms. Dye is that she has been a soccer coach for the last 10 years.

Mrs. Courtney Leonoff is back at West Iron after taking a position at the ISD. She was a West Iron student and later went to Michigan State University. This year is her 13th year in education, and 11 of which were spent at the elementary level. Mrs. Leonoff enjoys watching documentaries, attending sporting events and concerts, and spending time with her family. A fun fact about Mrs. Leonoff is that her goal is to read 100 books this year; she is currently on book 74!