Lesa Landauer

Lesa is a special education teacher at South High School. She has been teaching for 34 years, starting at South Middle School before moving to South High seven years ago. She was inspired to become a teacher by many great educators throughout her own schooling, as well as by her parents, who were also teachers. Lesa loves being part of her students' academic and social growth and enjoys the challenge of helping students reach their full potential and become more independent. For her, there's nothing more rewarding than seeing a child's excitement when they finally master a new skill or concept. A fun fact about her is that, as a teenager, her family hosted foreign exchange students from Japan and Denmark. At age 13, she spent a month in Japan with the family of one of those students. 

Kevin Poland
Kevin is a world history teacher at South High School. He has been teaching for 17 years, all at South. Kevin was inspired to choose teaching as a profession by the amazing teachers he had during his elementary, middle and high school years, including his mom. Kevin recognized the importance of having motivated teachers at every level and knew that he could be one. His favorite part of teaching is the daily interactions with his students and colleagues. He enjoys that every day is different due to the great people at SHS. A fun fact about Kevin is that when he is not at school he enjoys thrifting, going to garage sales and auctions. He loves coming across historical artifacts that help build his classroom museum.

Sarah Cradduck

Sarah is a freshman through senior 3D art teacher at South High School. She has been teaching for a total of 16 years, 15 of which have been at South High. Inspired by the amazing teachers she had in high school, Sarah was encouraged to pursue a career in education. She was also strongly influenced by her family, who emphasized the importance of reading, researching and experimenting. Sarah loves watching her students engage in the creative process–problem solving, overcoming challenges, experimenting with new ideas and creating amazing work each day. She feels fortunate to witness her student’s growth and creative development first hand. A fun fact about Sarah is that although she primarily has taught 3D art classes, she personally never took a 3D art class while in high school. Her only experience with sculpture before college was making mud pie creations on the farm where she grew up.

Cody Casey

Cody is a math teacher at South High School. He has been teaching for four years total, with this being his first year at South. His passion for working with students and helping them grow inspired him to choose teaching as his profession. Cody credits his experience coaching youth sports and volunteering at sports camps as the moments when he first discovered his calling for teaching and coaching. During his time as a student-athlete,
Cody was profoundly influenced by his high school football coach, Mike Vernon. Now, as both an educator and a coach himself, Cody values the opportunity to seek advice and guidance from Mike. He takes pride in building meaningful connections with his students and creating a positive impact in their lives. Fun fact—before joining South High School, Cody taught fifth grade for three years.

Sara Orr

Sara is an interrelated special education teacher at South High School. She has been working at South for eight years total, her rst four years spent as a paraeducator and the last four years teaching. Growing up, Sara was inspired by her teachers, their care for students, their heart and passion for teaching. She knew early on that she wanted to follow in their footsteps and make a difference through education. Sara believes that teaching is powerful and can positively change several lives, one day at a time. She appreciates her department at South, the strong support system they’ve built and the meaningful connections she has with her students. A fun fact about Sara is that she owns 36 pairs of Crocs and considers herself to be a Crocoholic!

Chris Delay

Chris is a speech teacher, debate and
forensics coach at South High School. Chris has been teaching for 25 years, with this being his first year at South. He was inspired to pursue teaching by the teachers in his hometown. He looked up to them and they were respected community members. Chris found direct inspiration from Mr. Christner in elementary school, Mr. Reynolds in middle school, and Mr. Stredney in high school. Chris enjoys working with young people and seeing the amazing things students accomplish. He appreciates the roles that schools play within our community, as well as how schools bring different people’s perspectives together within the safety of a classroom. A fun fact about Chris is that he has taught every grade level from kindergarten through Grade 12.

Noah Hopkins

Noah is a business/technology teacher at South High school. This is Noah’s first year teaching, however last year he was a student teacher at South High under Mr. Carmona. Noah was inspired to pursue teaching by his passion for helping people and building relationships. He credits his parents, his own high school busines teacher and Central High’s Ms. Hanson for further inspiration. Noah finds it rewarding to watch his students grow in the business field and as individuals. A unique fact about Noah is that he was born partially deaf, he has had hearing aids since Kindergarten and is thankful to have the ability to read lips.

Emily Kutz

Emily is a ninth and eleventh grade English teacher at South High school. She has been teaching for two years, both at South. Emily first started college as an English major but after spending a summer volunteering and coaching, she realized she loved working with kids and she made the decision to pursue teaching. Her favorite part about teaching is creating connections with her students so they feel valued and understood beyond their academics. A fun fact about Emily is that she has been a swim coach for four years and currently coaches for the Salina Aquatics Club.