Educational Experience
Prior to coming to Washington, Wachter was a teaching principal in Bozeman, Montana, and assisted in conference-level educational leadership for four years.
Wachter invested 20 years in educational instruction at Rogue Valley Adventist Academy in Medford, Oregon. As a classroom educator, Wachter loved the challenge of teaching a variety of elementary grades. Each year, she crafted new lesson plans within the context of curriculum requirements to best meet the needs of her students.
“As a teacher, you learn to read the room, to adjust to the needs of your students, to build relationships, and to make sure their socio-emotional needs are met,” Wachter reflects. “I’ve always been about building relationships – whether with students, parents, teachers, principals, or educational leaders in other school systems.”
Wachter earned a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s in school counseling from La Sierra University. She is currently working on a master’s in education leadership through Walla Walla University and has also completed some master’s level work in special education.
Wachter started her educational career in California at West Covina Adventist School and then taught at La Sierra Adventist Elementary. While at West Covina, the uncle of one of her students frequently volunteered in her classroom. Before long, a romance developed with Chip Wachter, a computer systems expert, who would become her husband. The couple has three young adult children and a menagerie of animals.
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