Moorhead Area Public Schools would like to thank the staff members who retired during the 2023-24 school year for their tireless service to the district, our students, our families and their MAPS co-workers. These 25 employees have combined for over 660 years of experience within Moorhead Schools.
This year’s retirees come from nine of the district’s 11 buildings and served in a wide range of roles to support the learning of Moorhead students over the years.
Dawn Hanson, a 1st grade teacher at Ellen Hopkins Elementary for the last 20 years—and at Probstfield Elementary for the nine years prior—said “In addition to missing the students and the funny things they say, I will miss being a part of the grade level teams I have been blessed to work with over the years. My grade level team and building colleagues have been an inspiration and a supportive group to work with each day.”
Moorhead High School social studies teacher Audrey Erickson, retiring after 36 years, helped found the Spud Closet at MHS, which is a food and supplies pantry for students in need. Audrey said “I am proud to have been an advocate for creating the Spud Closet; it is hard to imagine a time that we didn't provide this service to students and their families.”
Horizon West’s Diana Anderson is retiring after 28 years as a 5th and 6th grade teacher for MAPS. She says the smiles on her students’ faces always reminded her of why she was a teacher, adding “I have enjoyed many smiles over the years and that joy is precious.”
Help Moorhead Area Public Schools celebrate all of our 2023-24 retirees. Follow the Moorhead Schools pages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see features on each of these retirees throughout the summer (buildings listed are the most recent for each retiree):
Diana Anderson, Horizon Middle School West, 28 years
Deb Bartholomay, Horizon Middle School West, 37 years
Cathy Butenhoff, Ellen Hopkins Elementary, 37 years
Mike Engelke, Horizon Middle School East, 26 years
Audrey Erickson, Moorhead High School, 36 years
Kathy Ferreira, Robert Asp Elementary, 38 years
Dawn Hanson, Ellen Hopkins Elementary, 29 years
Jill Hanson, MHS Career Academy, 29 years
Robin Johnson, Horizon Middle School West, 26 years
Rick Kraft, MAPS Operations Center, 11 years
Paul Larson, Dorothy Dodds Elementary, 34 years
Shirley Laugeness, Dorothy Dodds Elementary, 8 years
Yvonne Lepage, Moorhead High School, 32 years
Roxanne Loock, Moorhead High School, 28 years
Ron Mickels, Moorhead High School, 6 years
Peggy Morken, Moorhead High School, 8 years
Kathy Sayler, Moorhead High School, 27 years
Laurie Schafer, Robert Asp Elementary, 32 years
Denice Sinner, MAPS Operations Center, 25 years
Ellen Sletten, S.G. Reinertsen Elementary, 23 years
DeAnn Smith, Moorhead High School, 29 years
LuAnn Tack, Moorhead High School, 24 years
Rosalinda Vargas, Horizon Middle School East, 30 years
Deb Walter, S.G. Reinertsen Elementary, 12 years
Sue Winter, MAPS Operations Center, 35 years