It is with great pleasure that we welcome Mrs. Heidi Scholtz to our Rochester Community as our Grade 4 English Teacher and Family Coordinator. Heidi started at Rochester School in August 2022, moving from Minneapolis in the midwestern state of Minnesota in the United States.
Although Heidi thought that she might have ended up living in Germany, as her father is German and she lived there for a few years, her dream was to live in a Spanish-speaking country. She has always had a real passion for the Spanish language and has been learning the language since 7th Grade. She was finally able to make her dream come true in August this year and chose Colombia because of its rich biodiversity; she is particularly fond of the mountains.
Heidi studied Cultural Anthropology and Biology as her Undergraduate degree as she originally wanted to be a Medical Anthropologist to help with health issues around the world. However, in Berlin she struggled to find jobs without a Master’s degree in this area, so she started teaching English which she felt was linked to Cultural Anthropology. She enjoyed teaching because she loves working with children of all ages and seeing how creative they are and watching them grow. Consequently, she got her Masters in Teaching English and German. She is enthusiastic about Project-Based Learning which is something that we implement at Rochester School.
Heidi taught Elementary English as a Second Language for 25 years in a school in Minneapolis. After this, she taught High School and Middle School students at a Project-Based school and part-time at a German immersion school. She sees similarities between our Rochester community and her previous schools.
Heidi loves that people in Colombia are friendly and she feels that her students are very caring. Her favourite dish is ajiaco. She has three children aged 22, 26, and 29, and a husband who are all currently living in Minnesota. They will be coming to visit Colombia at Christmas so we hope that they all have a fantastic time!
We are delighted to have Heidi at our school and hope that she continues to enjoy life in Colombia.
Jenny Chant High School English Teacher, Grades 9-12 Assistant Academic Coordinator, Grades 4-12