A new Kindergarten Teacher for Central Elementary School

By Paul Hall on Wednesday, October 13th, 2021 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News

LA GRANDE – Melinda Hassinger has joined the team of the La Grande School District. Hassinger is the new Kindergarten Teacher at Central Elementary School. Hassinger grew up in La Grande and graduated from LHS. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from EOU. She and her family live in Cove, where her husband runs a family farm. She has a niece and two nephews who attend Central.

After she homeschooled her children when they were young, when they returned to public school, Melinda volunteered in their classrooms, which led to a job as a paraeducator. She found she had a passion for working with children and helping them learn to read, so she went back to college to become a teacher.

Hassinger said, “the biggest goal is to serve the students I work with and learn from the other professionals I work with.”