Teacher of the Year toils into the night

Sometimes teaching means late nights, staying up to brush up on current events.
At least that’s the case for Elizabeth Averbeck, who teaches juniors and seniors social studies at Kasson-Mantorville High School. She’s starting her seventh year there this fall.
And while she might be modest, her colleagues chose to toot her horn, nominating her Teacher of the Year this fall. She found out by accident when she overheard a voicemail message about it intended for her husband. “We looked at each other,” she said. “But it had been heard so …”
“Other than feeling guilty we’d messed up the surprise, it was nice,” she said. “It obviously feels good. It’s an honor. We have a lot of amazing teachers in our district so it’s very much an honor.”
Her family drove from Iowa for her awards ceremony. Asked how she celebrated her win after the awards ceremony, Averbeck said “getting it is celebratory enough.”
Prior to teaching at K-M High School, she worked at Lourdes High School in Rochester.
What does she love most about what she does? The kids, of course.
“It’s interacting with the kids,” she said. “It’s the combination of that and the content. A lot of what we talk about is what the kids see in the news. I find it incredibly fun and rewarding to be able to connect what they’re hearing with their learning. It’s very relevant to them.”
That’s where the nights come in. If a big event occurs, Averbeck feels compelled to sit down at night and learn all she can about it so she can teach it the next day.
“That’s tough,” she said. “Taking time to learn that current event, that can be a challenge.”
Her principal said her efforts are noted.
“Mrs. Averbeck is a teacher who combines her passion for the social studies content with an extraordinary ability to build relationships with all students so they have the confidence and belief in themselves to strive for deep learning,” said K-M High School Principal Trent Langemo. “She is a tireless advocate for civic engagement and ignites a curiosity in students for a better understanding of the world around us.”
“She expects a lot of her students and in turn, she refuses to ever give up on any of them, ever. She is a professional educator in every sense of the word and we’re fortunate to have her.”
Outside of work, Averbeck and her husband recently got a puppy and are busy with training. She’s a voracious reader and is into pickleball. She’s in two Rochester pickleball leagues.
The couple lives in Byron. Eric is a teacher at K-M High School too. He teaches math.
Averbeck grew up in Osage, Iowa, and went to college at Winona State University. She got her bachelor’s in mass communications and history in 2009 and stayed on for an additional year there to get her teaching license.