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The Beat: School's in session for Check, Schultek
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Students went back to school in droves earlier this week as a number of area school districts headed back to the classroom Tuesday.

Those heading to Monroe High School had a couple of new faces to greet them.

Carmen Check of Milton got a hurried introduction to MHS after being hired to teach agriculture and serve as FFA advisor just before school started. She also teaches one ag class at Monroe Middle School. She replaces Kirk Kramp, who resigned two weeks before school started to accept a position in a different school district.

It left the district scrambling a bit to fill the job. If a teacher wasn't found to take the position, the district planned on hiring a long-term substitute.

But luck was on Monroe's side: MHS Principal Mark Burandt reported that Check, a graduate of University of Wisconsin-Platteville, was able to hit the ground running. She already has made many contacts and made connections to ag alumni, he said.

It's been a "a little harried" for the first-year teacher, but "she's handled it very well," he said.

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Another new face at the MHS sits behind the glass in the vice principal's office. But don't expect to find Nick Schultek actually sitting there very often.

Schultek, who took over the vice principal's position at the end of June, reports his first few days of the new school year have been "a lot of fun."

That's not to say it hasn't been a little different for Schultek, who most recently was principal of an alternative high school in West Allis. There, the student body was 90, with half attending in the morning and the other half in the afternoon.

But Schultek said he is quickly adjusting to the larger school and is happy to have had a chance to get to know a number of students already through watching sports practices. He expects to get to know even more students quickly - he's said he likes to keep up on what students are doing by walking around the school, observing and interacting with the young people.

So far, MHS students have been a little curious about their new vice principal - and welcoming. They've been "very open, and willing to talk," he said.