New family to teach, learn at Libby Elementary

When the Boehmler family moved to Libby, Libby Elementary School gained two teachers and two students.

Andrea Boehmler, 40, is teaching second grade, and Todd Boehmler, 48, is teaching fifth and P.E. classes.

They both have quite a bit of teaching experience through the Conrad School District. Andrea was the third grade teacher in Conrad for 10 years and Todd was a physical education teacher there for 14 years.

Andrea said that her favorite part of the first day of school was seeing all the kids in the classroom and have them under her wing.

“It was fun because they were new into that pod...and so I kept saying, ‘Well I’m new too, so you’re going to be my teacher and I’m going to be your teacher’,” Andrea said.

Andrea is originally from Spokane, Wash. and Todd is from Sequim, Wash. After Todd finished up his first degree in sports medicine at Eastern Washington University in Cheney Wash., he did an internship and found out that a sports medicine career didn’t suit him. Only after working at the YMCA in Spokane, he found he wanted to work with kids. That’s also where he met Andrea, who was also working at the same YMCA since high school and was working there while attending EWU. Todd went back to EWU to attain his bachelor’s in physical education while Andrea worked on getting her bachelor’s in reading elementary with a special education minor. They were married a few years later in 2002.

While Andrea had one year of college left to go, Todd had graduated and taught in Spokane for a year. After being laid off in Spokane, Todd went to work in Conrad. For the first few years, Andrea taught 20 miles away in Shelby until 2006 when she got a job in Conrad.

Todd said his favorite part of being a teacher is, “seeing the look on a kid’s face when he or she gets it, when it clicks, whatever you’re trying to teach them,” Todd said. “I love that.”

Unlike Todd, Andrea said she’s known she wanted to work with kids since she was in sixth grade, being inspired by her teachers who helped her.

The Boehmlers have two daughters, Jayva, six, and Kinzee, 11. With entire family in the Libby Elementary School this year, Todd said that Jayva and Kinzee both enjoy having their parents as teachers. After school, the two play and color in their rooms.

When they aren’t teaching every summer, the Boehmlers go to Copper Center, Alaska, where Todd works as a fishing guide, and Andrea works part-time as a shuttle driver for raft companies.

The Boehmlers also enjoy camping and fishing and the family is very excited to explore the camping and fishing sites around Libby.

Reporter Bethany Rolfson may be reached at 293-4124 or by email at Reporter@TheWesternNews.com.