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We’re proud of our educators and are taking this opportunity to introduce you to two of them, in their own words. They have different interests but share a passion for preparing Longview students for successful futures!

This is a supplement to the Longview Public Schools annual report. Both Gail Wells and Sam Kell are featured in the printed version of the annual report.  

Gail Wells, math teacher, Monticello Middle School.

Gail Wells believes everyone can do math. She works the room and uses technology to gauge how much each student understands, even those who never raise their hands.

Where did you grow up and go to school? I was born in North Dakota and grew up in Federal Way, Washington. I was in the first graduating class at Thomas Jefferson High School in Auburn and went to Western Washington University for a degree in home economics.

How did you get from home economics to math? My passion was food and nutrition, but math is completely entrenched in home economics—measuring food, finance, sewing …

Why do people think math is so hard? Society doesn’t allow people not to be “readers,” but for some reason it’s OK to not be […]

“Don’t give up,” is eleven-year-old Christine “CC” Carman’s message for young people. After undergoing open-heart surgery in January 2018, the Cascade Middle School seventh grader is confident she can do just about anything in life. “Even as a little kid you can do anything, it just depends on how big of an imagination you have,” Christine says.

In October of 2017 a friend of Christine’s talked about having a heart murmur as they exercised during PE class. When Christine felt her own heartbeat while the two friends were running, she could feel it skip a beat. The friend recommended she talk to her doctor.

Pre-surgery with the anesthesia doctor.

Christine’s mother Sarah Carman took Christine to her regular doctor for a visit and explained that Christine had asthma-like symptoms including shortness of breath.  The doctor listened to Christine’s heart and recommended an electrocardiogram (EKG) commonly used to detect heart problems. The EKG test came back with a conclusion of “normally abnormal”, meaning there were abnormal readings within the scope of being normal.  The doctor suggested further testing, and an appointment with a cardiologist was set.

The cardiologist’s test results were more definitive. Open-heart surgery would […]