Otteson honored for teaching in Palm Springs

Becoming an elementary school teacher wasn't something Joshua Otteson knew he wanted to do early in life, though it easily could have been.

The 1996 Malta High School graduate has teaching in his blood as his parents, Andrew and Barbara Otteson, are well known in Phillips County for their dedication to education (Andrew taught for 40 years in Malta where Barbara was also a para-educator.) Though it wasn't initially their son's ambition in life to follow in their footsteps, Joshua did eventually become a teacher and was recently named Teacher of the Year for Cahuilla Elementary School.

"I was humbled," Otteson said of the honor. "As a PE teacher, you kind of get lost in the mix sometimes so I must have been making an impact that they noticed, which is awesome."

As surprised and honored as he was after finding out his peers had nominated him for the award, he was to the moon when he found out he had actually been picked as Teacher of the Year after being nominated for the award by his peers.

"Just to be nominated was a very humbling experience and to be chosen, I couldn't even believe it," he said. "I walked in the room and I cried. I was blown away when they showed me I was the teacher of the year. I was up against two of the best teachers in our school."

While attending MHS, Otteson lettered in football, basketball, track and field and was a member of choir and band. After high school, he attended Jamestown College in North Dakota -a member of the football team - and somewhere around his junior year decided to follow in his parent's footsteps and become an educator.

"I was going to school to become a chiropractor, but I knew I wasn't going to be a chiropractor because the chemistry just wasn't for me," he said. "I was a swim team instructor and coach and I really enjoyed that. I taught a three-year-old how to swim across the pool and I enjoyed that so much that I decided I wanted to become a teacher and make a difference."

Though he came to the teaching decision in his early 20's, Otteson said the education he received from his parents and his teachers in Malta set him up to be successful in the profession.

"I loved my Dad's seventh and eighth grade science classes," Otteson said. "I had so many good teachers and mentors. Coach King, Coach Schye, Coach Schumacher ...I use a lot of what Coach Schumacher did with his elementary PE, some of my favorite games then, I still play with my students. I was blessed to be born and raised in Malta."

Following his football days at Jamestown College, Otteson transferred to the University of Montana where he graduated with a BA in Health and Human Performance with an emphasis on Education. Otteson married Laura (the daughter of Larry and Susan Matthews) in 2003. The two met when they were both in the second grade after Laura transferred from St. Mary's School to Malta Elementary. Laura is also an educator (she teaches the first grade at Rio Vista Elementary) and the couple has four children; J.J. 12, Ava, 9, Owen, 6 and Eli who is 3-years-old. They currently live in Cathedral City, pinched in between Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage in the Coachella Valley. The summer of 2003, after the couple wed, Laura and Joshua moved to the area as Laura had acquired a job as a teacher. In the meantime, Joshua started as substitute teacher and personal trainer at a local gym before being hired as a full-time teacher.

Cahuilla Elementary School is one of 16 elementary schools in the Palm School District, a district which also has five middle schools, four comprehensive high schools and provides education to over 25,000 students.

Dr. Ryan Saunders, principal at Cahuilla Elementary, says Otteson has a "can-do attitude," and doesn't let financial constraints limit what he wants to accomplish and is always after whatever is best for the students.

"I was happy to see him nominated and selected by his peers because he runs an outstanding physical education program here and provides top-quality instruction for our students," said Dr. Saunders. "He doesn't let money shortfalls get in his way. He has written and received thousands of dollars in grants to help provide special equipment to enrich our program for the students here at Cahuilla Elementary School."

Otteson said some of the recent grants he has applied for and received are from Donorschoose.org - a website where potential donors can search for school projects to fund - and THE FOUNDATION (a nonprofit for the Palm Springs Unified School District). Dr. Saunders said the grant monies Otteson has been awarded have been used to bring in modern PE equipment - including sand bags, kettle balls, medicine balls and exercise mats, items not typically seen at elementary schools - and a Wii Fitness PE Lab, a family favorite.

Otteson said he borrowed the Wii Fitness Lab idea from an elementary school he worked at prior to Cahuilla Elementary and following a strong recommendation from his eldest son, J.J. (Joshua Jr.). J.J., who is autistic, was attending a different elementary school than the one his father was teaching at, came to his father's school one afternoon, tried the lab out, and loved it.

"He said 'that was so fun dad, we should get one of those'," Otteson recalled.

The temperatures in Palm Springs start hitting a high in the 90's in April and stay well over 100-degrees from June through September and sometimes into October. Otteson said the need for indoor PE actives coupled with Josh Jr.'s positive review meant a Wii Fitness PE Lab at Cahuilla Elementary was a no-brainer.

"I wrote my first grant for the Wii Fitness Lab," Otteson said. "We have six rolling carts that have Wiis on the bottom and each station has two to four remotes. We play Wii Dance, Wii Tennis, Wii Golf, Wii Basketball, Wii bowling."

Otteson said all of the students enjoy the interactive PE classes and said that his special needs students "really love it."

"Some of the autistic kids remember the dance and go home and practice them," he said. "It's something they excel at in the classroom and practice at home. It is cool for all of the students because they are indoors in the air-condition and still sweating as much as they should be in a PE class."

Otteson also co-wrote the $50,000 grant to help start the football program at Desert Hot Springs while he worked there with fellow Malta High School graduate (and brother-in-law) L.D. Matthews.

"That program is still going so it's been awesome to see that just a little grant can kind of get things going," Otteson said.

Dr. Saunders said that he feels Otteson is a blessing for each of the approximately 540 students at Cahuilla Elementary.

"He brings a dedication that it is a moral imperative for every student to be physically active and healthy," Dr. Saunders said. "That comes through in every aspect when he works with students and not just General Ed students, but students with disabilities as well, and that emphasis on being physically active and being health-conscience and a healthy lifestyle comes through with every student that he works with."