Mrs. McDowell
3rd Grade Teacher
Sue McDowell
320-214-6689 ext. 6711
I moved here with my husband and four children in 1991 – the year of the great snowstorm! We moved from Winona, Minnesota where I had been teaching 5th grade students. I started to substitute teach in the Willmar Schools right away and was given the opportunity to do a long-term teaching position in Grade 2 at Washington Elementary School. I then moved to Lafayette Elementary where I also taught 2nd graders. I had the unique experience to teach 3rd and 4th grade “looping” classes for a period of four years.
My teaching experience began in Wanamingo, Minnesota (Grade 2); then off to the South Page School District in Iowa; followed by a few years in Osage Beach, Missouri; 13 years in Winona, Minnesota, and currently in Willmar. I have thoroughly enjoyed every grade I have taught and if given a second chance to choose my career, I would do exactly what I have been doing – teaching kids!
I graduated from Winona State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education with emphasis (we called them broad fields at the time) in Spanish and Sociology. In 2003, I graduated with my Master’s Degree in Education from St. Mary’s University.
I grew up in South St. Paul, Minnesota with 3 sisters and my mom and dad. In my free time, I enjoy fishing, walking, cooking, baking, riding my motorcycle, visiting my friends and family, being up at our small “get-away” at Mille Lacs Lake, and most of all, spending as much time possible with my nine grandchildren.
My four children have now all grown and moved to different towns and some have started families. We have been blessed with very successful children. We have two sons in education: one as a principal and another teaching 1st grade. One daughter is finishing her Master’s in Nursing. She currently is an RN in South Dakota. Our other daughter works as an Account Executive for the Deluxe Checks Company.