By Mark Ambrogi
Zionsville West Middle School social studies teacher Libby Rease loves teaching U.S. history, but a change of pace is always nice.
“What I really like about the Academic Super Bowl is every year they choose a different subject, so it’s not always U.S. history,” Rease said. “So not only do I get to help the students learn about other topics, like this year it’s the French Revolution, it also allows me to dig in deeper to the different topics. I love their enthusiasm for whatever subject it is, and they’re really fun to coach.”
Rease, who teaches U.S. history for eighth graders at ZWMS, was named one of the four middle school finalists for the Indiana Association of School Principals for Academic Coach of the Year. The finalists were honored at an IASP luncheon in late September. Although she didn’t win, Rease said she was honored to be a finalist.
Rease serves as the Academic Junior Super Bowl coordinator and coaches the history section for the members. Rease was nominated by ZWMS principal Matt Doublestein.
ZWMS will host the Academic Junior Support Bowl for 12 area schools for the fourth consecutive year in April 2017.
This is Rease’s 17th year teaching middle school history in Zionsville Community Schools. She previously taught at Zionsville Middle School. She has worked as an Academic Bowl coach for both middle schools for 15 years. Before starting as a history teacher, she was a permanent substitute teacher for two years in ZCS. Prior to that, she was a preschool teacher at Traders Point Academy and then a substitute teacher for several schools for several years.
“I started teaching after my kids were in school,” said Rease, an Indianapolis native who graduated from Bradley University with an education and history degree in 1979.
Rease, a Brownsburg resident, and her husband, Randy, have two grown children. Candice Hansen, 34, lives in Wausau, Wis., and is married with three children, Morea, 6, Westley, 4 and Cora, 2. Rease’s son, Doug, 30, lives in Zionsville and is a pilot for JetBlue. Doug’s wife is Jenna.
