STE. GENEVIEVE – Ste. Genevieve County R-II School District has selected its first director of the early childhood center: Bethany Koetting,
The center is currently under construction.
Throughout the past several years, one of the most significant priorities that the R-II Facilities Committee identified was the need for an Early Childhood Center.
Following the passage of Prop SG, the Early Childhood Center was designed, with a floor plan of 10 classrooms for preschool and Early Childhood Special Education students; spaces for Parents As Teachers, occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech therapy; a kitchen, a multipurpose room, a sensory room, a nurse’s office; and more.
The Early Childhood Center is expected to be ready for the start of the 2025-2026 school year.
Learn more about the Early Childhood Center here: https://www.sgdragons.org/page/early-childhood
The Board of Education approved Koetting for the Director of the early childhood position at its Feb. 20, 2024 meeting. She will direct the operation of this new center, which includes early childhood education, early childhood special education, Parents as Teachers, before and after school programs and other programs in the District that focus on early learning for children.
About Our New Director of the Early Childhood Center
Bethany Koetting joined the SG R-II team in 2011, when she took a position at Ste. Genevieve Elementary as a special education teacher working specifically with students receiving services under the eligibility category of Autism, Emotional Disturbance, or Other Health Impairments.
While at SG R-II, Koetting served as a member of Missouri Parents as Teachers Association, as well as a Beta Rho chapter member of Delta Kappa Gamma. She served on the district’s Professional Development Committee, the Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP) Committee, the Ste. Genevieve Elementary Dragon Leadership Team (DLT), and the long-range Facilities Committee. Koetting also coached middle school volleyball for several years.
When thinking back on the accomplishments for which she is most proud to have played a part, Mrs. Koetting reflects on when she first took the position of Early Childhood Process Coordinator in 2017. She was given the task of merging all early childhood programs into one cohesive team in order to provide services in our community that address the whole child, at all ages/stages of development. Our Parents as Teachers, Early Childhood Special Education, and Preschool programs now work collaboratively to ensure screenings, services, and resources are available to all children in the community.
In addition, as supervisor of our Parents as Teachers program, Koetting has worked to build relationships with local child care providers in order to provide developmental screenings and identify children in need of additional services or resources. And in the last few years, with support from our preschool teachers, Koetting applied for the Foundation for School Success Grant, and our Ste. Genevieve Preschool program was awarded $30,000 renewable for three years. Our team has used the funds to enhance the preschool program and plan for the future needs of the upcoming Early Childhood Center.
Koetting earned her bachelor’s degree in Exceptional Child Education from Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO). She went on to earn her master’s degree in Elementary Educational Administration from Missouri Baptist University, and then her Specialist in Education Administration from Southwest Missouri State. She is currently working to earn her Doctor of Education in Leadership in Teaching and Learning from Missouri Baptist University with a dissertation focus on kindergarten readiness and a tentative completion for Fall 2024. Mrs. Koetting is a Ste. Genevieve High School alumna.
Her certifications include: Elementary Education 1-6, Early Childhood Special Education B-3, Mild to Moderate Cross-Categorical K-12, and Principal K-8. She also serves as the district’s in-district Autism Consultant after completing her training in 2013.
Koetting is married to her husband of 10 years, Ryan, and they have four children: Dru (19), Easton (16), Augustus (9), and JoLynn (7).