May 2011 - Jefferson County Public Schools

Ms Andrea Miechelle Abma
By Jasmynn Weathers
Ms.Abma, who goes by Miechelle, is a Nursing and Sports Medicine teacher
here at Central High School. She says she loves it! By the looks of it, it seems like she
loves her life and the people in it, too!
She has had a lot of teaching experience in her life time. She taught at Ivy
Tech and Brown Mackie College a long time ago, and now Central High School. These
are good choices of schools, especially Central High School! She chose to teach
Nursing because it’s her profession and she enjoys it. Teaching lets her learn so
many new things and she likes helping people. She wants to share her experience in
the field of Nursing.
“As a teacher, I want to become the best I can be. I want for the Nursing
students of Central High School to be able to leave here with credits for college, with
field experience in Nursing, and with a certification in Nurse Assisting so they can
start to work in the field and get a step ahead.”
Michelle Abma grew up in a little city called Tell City with a population of 8,000 people. She is adopted and was
the only child. She has always loved music, reading and being outdoors. She has played the piano since she was 5 years
old. She also enjoys helping with her son’s choir at his elementary school, camping, boating, reading, and spending time
with family and friends. Mrs. Abma attended St Paul Elementary, Tell City High and Tell City High School. She said about
Mr. Carver, her World History in high school, ‘‘He taught me the love of learning, the importance of respect, the ability
to gain information and the understanding that if I apply myself, I will achieve.”
She also attended WKU. “I loved the whole atmosphere of WKU, how friendly the campus was I also loved going
to the football games and hanging with my friends! She has also attended Galen College of Nursing, Excelsior College,
Indiana Wesleyan College, and now EKU.
Mrs. Abma is happily married to Shawn Abma who works with Metro Government as an Arson Investigator.
They have 3 young boys name Trevor, Parker and Spencer.
Margaret Demaree: An Inspiring and Admirable Lady Who Believes in Everyone’s Potential
By Nikayla Edmondson
Margaret Demaree is an inspiring woman at Central High School. She has
more than one success story; she has accomplishments one after another! She
believes in all of her students and she becomes a mentor to everyone she meets.
Born as Margaret Dunbar, in Prospect, Kentucky, Mrs. Demaree had a busy
childhood. She was involved in track, cheerleading, choir and church activities. “My
mother didn’t give me and my brother much time to get into trouble,” she said. He
attended Wilder and Norton Elementary Schools, and Ballard Junior and Senior High
Schools. It was there that Susan Fetter, her PE teacher and track coach became her
inspiration. She attended EKU, UK and UofL. It was in college that she learned about
the real world.
Mrs. Demaree chose to teach Functional Mentally Disable students because
she had a great aunt who was severely disabled. In her 29 year career, she’s taught at
Bullitt Lick Middle School, Bullitt East High School and Central High School. Mrs.
Demaree loves helping students with their education. At Central, she most admires Steven Serotte, the magnet
coordinator, for his dedication to helping the students. When asked how teaching has changed over her career, she said
that both student-teacher respect and technology are different than when she first started.
Mrs. Demaree’s biggest accomplishments in life are her children – daughter, Devyn, and son, George – twins!
Second is 1+1=U. She hopes to help build the organization to a national level. To learn more, http://1plus1equalsu.com/.
In her spare time, she loves singing, watching romance movies, and, of course, helping others.
She wants all CHS students to know, “What is HARD to endure, is sweet to Remember. Hard work brings
success.”