Jen Harre of Scottsbluff High School has been named Nspire Today!’s Teacher of the Week, sponsored by TC & More in Scottsbluff.
Harre is a health science instructor at Scottsbluff High School for grades 9-12. She’s also a co-HOSA Future Health Professionals advisor with Kelli Larson.
The person who nominated Harre for TC & More’s Teacher of the Week honor said, “She’s one of the kindest people I know, and she wants the best for all of her students. She’s passionate about the health professions, and you can tell that she gets the kids excited about it, too. She’s definitely one of the best teachers I know.”
Harre is in her fourth year of teaching – all at Scottsbluff High School.
“I’ve enjoyed teaching in the health science career academy,” she said. “We have amazing curriculum that gives students a wide look into the health professions. We’re able to give students a lot of hands-on experience, and we’re able to give students a good opportunity to figure out what career path they might want to take before they go to college. It’s amazing that high school students today are learning about things that I didn’t learn about until I went to nursing school.”
Harre is in her 21st year as a registered nurse. Before she started teaching at Scottsbluff High School, she was a school nurse for the Scottsbluff and Gering public school districts for seven years.
Before that, she worked 10 years at St. Elizabeth Regional Medical Center in Lincoln as a RN.
Although Harre enjoyed working as a RN, she developed a desire to teach high school students about the health fields.
“I’m a firm believer that if we teach our young students about the health professions, they’ll be the ones who take care of us someday,” she said. “These kids are the future of health care. I had great nursing mentors, and I want to be able to help guide today’s youth to become future health professionals, too.“
Harre graduated from the University of Nebraska Medical Center-College of Nursing in Lincoln in 1998. Before that, she was at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, where she took prerequisite classes for nursing.
She graduated from Scottsbluff High School in 1994.
She and her husband, Shawn, have one child, Tyler, who’s a sophomore at Scottsbluff High School
Her hobbies and interests include watching Tyler compete in football and basketball. She also loves spending time outdoors.
Harre said she enjoys living in Scottsbluff.
“I went to high school here, and we moved back here when our son started kindergarten because we wanted to be in a smaller community, and we wanted to be closer to family. My brother is Nate luehrs, and he lives here, and my parents [Roger and Suzanne Luehrs] live here, too. We really enjoy spending time with family,” she said.
For being named Nspire Today!’s Teacher of the Week, sponsored by TC & More, Harre will receive a $10 gift certificate to TC & More, which is located at 1621 Broadway Ave. in downtown Scottsbluff. Gift certificates may be picked up at TC & More.
TC & More, which is the only business in western Nebraska that sells educational materials, offers a wide selection of classroom decor for area teachers. In addition, TC & More offers home decor, gifts, purses, toys, and so much more. TC & More, which encourages people to “Like” its Facebook page, also provides free gift wrapping and a 10 percent discount for seniors and military personnel.
If you would like to nominate an area teacher for Nspire Today!’s Teacher of the Week honor, you may do so by sending an email to jeff.fielder@nspiretoday.com or by mailing a letter to Nspire Today!, P.O. Box 454, Scottsbluff, NE 69363. Nominations may also be submitted by sending a text to 308-220-8865.
In addition to being recognized online, teachers honored as the Teacher of the Week will also be recognized in Nspire Today! magazine. To sign up for a one-year subscription (12 issues) to the magazine, please send $15 to Nspire Today!, P.O. Box 454, Scottsbluff, NE 69363. To pay with a credit card, please call 308-220-8865.
