The Wagner Community School hired Emily Janak as a Special Education teacher for the 2024-2025 school year. Emily is originally from Huron, and is now living in Scotland. She has been teaching going on 17 years. Over the course of her teaching career, Emily has taught Spanish, English, Language Arts, Reading, and Special Education.

Emily became a teacher because she wanted to be able to make a connection with students while instilling an appreciation for learning. Before taking her current position in Wagner, she was the Elementary Student Success Coordinator for the Scotland School District. What made her want to become a part of the Wagner Community School’s team is that she had heard a lot of good things about the Wagner school; so, when Emily heard that a position that she was qualified for was open, she decided to apply. For this year’s school year, Emily is looking forward to having the opportunity to meet and connect with the students and staff at WCS. Her goal for the school year is to help her students grow in their skills and find academic success.

Emily is married and the couple have three daughters, ages 9, 4 and 1 ½. They also have an aussiedoodle. As a family, they like to spend time outside, camp, and attend University of South Dakota Coyote athletic events. Two items on Emily’s bucket list are to visit as many National Parks as possible and travel to all 50 states.

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