With the 1st month of school behind us, students and teachers have settled into a routine. With the welcoming of not only the class of 2025 but also 2024 complete, we can turn to welcome the new staff that have joined us at here at Eagan!

Mr. Bardal has joined the Special Education Department! He’s no stranger to many students as he previously taught at Dakota Hills Middle School. Attending the University of Minnesota State, Mankato, Mr. Bardal is currently working towards his Masters degree at Concordia University. When asked why he decided to become an educator, Mr. Bardal responded, “My passion is making a difference and I feel like I get the opportunity to do that every single day in the field of education!” Mr. Bardal is an assistant basketball coach here at Eagan and loves the outdoors: ” I love being out on the boat in summer, I love hunting and fishing in the fall so being outdoors is something I really enjoy!”

Mrs. Barrios is a math teacher. Attending St. Cloud State, Eagan High School is Mrs. Barrios’ first teaching job out of college. Mrs. Barrios got involved immediately, helping run our very own Eagan Independent. Additionally, she enjoys going to football games, and her childrens’ swim meets. Mrs. Barrios had a unique childhood, as she spent two years living in Japan on an Air Force base, a profession that both of her parents were a part of. In her words, Mrs. Barrios loves to teach math because she gets to help students with a subject that is often difficult, something that she can relate to from her own experience. While her arrival at EHS was recent, Mrs. Barrios’ impact is already felt by many.

Eagan has welcomed a new coach, Mr. Carl! Mr. Carl went to high school here and then went to the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire and got a bachelor’s degree in special education. He coaches Eagan Trained in the weight room and varsity football along with co-teaching intermediate algebra with Ms. Comer and teaching academic resource and math essentials classes.  Mr. Carl doesn’t lead any clubs, but he coaches varsity football 7 days a week.  Mr. Carl’s family consists of his mom, dad, and brother Adam who just got married to his wife Clarissa.

Ms. Cook is a long term sub teacher here at EHS.  She graduated from the University of St. Thomas and has an English major and Psychology minor. After Ms. Cook graduated from St. Thomas, she worked in media for 6 years, including TV and radio jobs!  She also got her Masters degree in education and has been teaching in the district for 7 years.  Ms. Cook has worked with all high school grade levels and has taught on level English, Honors English, Contemporary Literature, advanced reading, and acting classes.  Ms. Cook is not a part of any clubs at the moment, but if she led a club, she would like to lead a club that involves LGBTQ+ literature so that she could be an ally and advocate for the  community. Ms. Cook has a husband and two daughters who are 14 and 12 years old. She also has a crazy shelter dog named Peach.

Joining the Technology and Engineering department is Mr. Elias. Teaching drafting and engineering, Mr. Elias is familiar with Eagan as his dad coached here, “I grew up in Rosemount but my dad coached here so it’s nice to see it go full circle.” Attending, St. Cloud State University, Mr. Elias has always grown up with a passion for building and teaching seemed like a field that was rewarding where he also got to do something he lived: “I just love being able to help people and see them achieve their goals and it’s really rewarding seeing people solve problems and being able to accomplish things.” Coaching freshman football and assisting with line judging for volleyball, Mr. Elias has become involved in many Eagan sports and clubs. When asked what the most interesting thing he’s made is, he replied, “An axe! I built the Wisconsin- Minnesota Badger rivalry axe full size! It took about a week.”

The history department has welcomed a new teacher, Mr. Forde! Mr. Forde teaches U.S History and World History. When asked what sparked his interest to teach, Mr. Forde replied, ” I grew up near Columbine High School in Littleton, Ohio which had a huge school shooting, so I saw, through that tragedy, the school community come together and the city of Littleton come together to support the Columbine community and how important school was. Just getting back to normalcy, to get past that tragedy is definitely one of the reasons that drew me to want to become a teacher.” Mr. Forde is involved in the tennis team, faith club, Wildcat Connections, and High school’s Against Cancer. A big hobby of his is trying new foods, “My wife and I are big foodies! I lived in Japan for a bit so I tried raw horse once!”

Joining the ELL department is Ms. Hagen! After graduating from high school, she went to Luther College in Iowa and is now working on getting her masters degree at Augsburg University in Minneapolis. Ms. Hagen teaches English Language Learners along with ELL students in special education. She teaches both in person and virtually.  Ms. Hagen doesn’t currently lead any clubs, but would be interested in leading a club in the future to encourage student involvement.  Ms. Hagen has 3 daughters, two of which are in college and one who is in high school. She also has a dog named Elsa.

If you have a last name between (Gu-) and (Kt-), you are likely familiar with the next staff member, Ms. Hammond! Ms. Hammond had joined the Counseling department! Attending the University of Minnesota, she got her Master’s in counseling psychology. While this is her first counseling job in her career, Ms. Hammond was also an academic advisor for a college access program known as TRIO Educational Talent Search. When the school doors close, Ms. Hammond enjoys playing board games, cooking, traveling, and practicing yoga. Additionally, Ms. Hammond is a huge Marvel fan, with Black Panther being her favorite movie. As a counselor at EHS, Ms. Hammond hopes to embody the same helpful qualities as her favorite superheroes on the big screen.

The Business department has welcomed a new teacher, Ms. Korngable. Attending Winona State for her undergrad, Ms. Korngable has previously taught middle and high school students in a small town in Western Minnesota: “It has definitely been a transition…it’s different because Eagan has a lot more kids and staff here but it’s been a lot of fun!” Ms. Korngable hopes to join BPA at Eagan. As for hobbies, Ms. Korngable believes she has many “old lady” hobbies, such as cooking, working on puzzles, and walks. Her favorite dish to make is spicy peanut noodles!

Ms. Millward is a media clerk here at EHS.  Ms. Millward graduated from Idaho State University with a cosmetology certificate. She is currently going to school at BYU pathways for a business degree.  Ms. Millward works in the media center, checking books out to students and taking textbook inventories.  Ms. Millward is not a part of any clubs, but she would like to connect to students and learn more about the clubs and activities at EHS.  Ms. Millward has two incredible kids, Parker who is 13 and Marcus who is 6.  She also has a mini goldendoodle dog named Prince who acts somewhat like a cat.

Mrs. Pawlicki is a social studies teacher. Attending Gustavus Adolphus, Mrs. Pawlicki earned her Bachelor’s degree with majors in Secondary Education and Social Studies, as well as a minor in Business Management. Mrs. Pawlicki then went to the University of Minnesota to obtain a Master’s in teacher leadership, and an administrative license. Prior to her arrival at EHS, Mrs. Pawlicki taught for 23 years, 14 of them in District 196, working at Eastview, SES, and Apple Valley High. When school isn’t in session, Mrs. Pawlicki loves watching basketball, especially when her daughter is on the court. Her other passions include exercising, taking walks, being with friends and family, reading, and watching sports. Mrs. Pawlicki also played basketball at Gustavus, and even got a hole-in-one at a golf course in Iowa. Ultimately, Mrs. Pawlicki loves teaching social studies because every day is different, and the content is relevant to students’ lives

Mr. Samuel has joined the history department, teaching World History and Civics. Attending the University of North Dakota with an initial interest in anthropology, Mr. Samuel soon realized that anthropology was not something he wanted to continue with: “In Anthropology, I had a class where I had to make Neolithic stone tools and as I was hitting rocks together, I decided that this was not something I wanted to do. So I took the credits I had and switched over to teaching, which has always been something that has been in the back of my mind.” Mr. Samuel is Eagan’s wrestling coach, a soon-to-be rugby coach, and the quiz bow supervisor!

Mrs. Scully is a health and PE teacher. Attending St. Cloud State University, Mrs. Scully worked for two years at Brooklyn Center Community Schools before coming to EHS. While Mrs. Scully’s time at EHS is new, her passion for teaching isn’t. In fact, she decided to become a teacher at the age of 7! Outside of school hours, Mrs. Scully enjoys coaching the 9A volleyball team. Overall, Mrs. Scully’s favorite part of teaching health and PE is having the ability to see students learn and interact outside of the typical classroom environment.

Joining the Health and Physical Education department is Mr. Smith! After attending Alabama State University, Mr. Smith worked in Atlanta Public Schools for 7 years prior to his arrival at EHS. Right away, Mr. Smith took on a role as a JV and Varsity coach for the Eagan football team. Not only is Mr. Smith new to EHS, but also new to Minnesota. This means that he will be experiencing his first Minnesota winter in the coming months. Outside of school, Mr. Smith likes photography and collecting sneakers, as well as indulging in chicken wings. Overall, Mr. Smith enjoys teaching health and PE because he gets to teach the students that like to participate, and that are more enthusiastic about the topic at hand.

Another new staff member who has joined Eagan this year is Ms. Ernst who is an attendence clerk!