Kim Lies is currently a third grade teacher at Andale Elementary. She has taught grades 1-3 for 20 years, with 14 of those being at Andale. Lies has also taught a whopping 3,515 fully immersive ESL classes to 737 clients through VIPkid. When Kim graduated from Newman University, she began her teaching career at St. Jude Catholic School, where her younger cousins attended. After Lies’ first year, she followed the 8th grade teacher to Holy Spirit Catholic School and taught grades 1-2 for four years. She then received a call from Alice Spexarth, asking her to come to Andale Elementary and Co-teach. Lies has been at Andale ever since and says it has been a great place to raise her son.

Kim’s favorite part about teaching is developing a curriculum that brings learning to life. She has sold over 13,000 lesson plans on the Teachers Pay Teachers website. “Watching students progress and develop over a school year is a rewarding journey to be a part of”. Lies also likes working with high school and college students who plan to become educators. She enjoys getting together with other teachers and continues to learn herself. Lies’ teaching philosophy is to do whatever it takes, that means many hours of summer tutoring, early morning meetings with the education intervention team, communication with parents, and watching many videos to try and improve her game.

This year Kim received a Golden Apple, a prestigious award given to educators by nomination from peers for showcasing excellence in their teaching. Lies was also a regional semi-finalist for Kansas Teacher of the Year. Kim has received letters from former students about how she inspired them to be a teacher just like her, “nothing makes her heart happier”.

Kim has many hobbies, including coaching volleyball, decorating her church gathering space, making rosaries, and conducting weekly bible studies at the Wichita Work Release Facility. “I make a weekly snack and advocate for the girls, just stepping out of jail, to make life changes and conversion of unhealthy life habits. In turn, this encourages them to become productive members of society and good mothers to their children”. She also enjoys going fishing and taking road trips with her son. Her favorite summer activity is hanging out with family, whether its going to garage sales, blending up some homemade salsa, playing basketball, or taking a walk down the creek. 

For the 2024-2025 school year, Lies will be switching to Colwich Grade School, where her cousins children attend. It’s closer to her home and the family farm, allowing her to ride her bike to school, start a crock pot meal over lunch, go to the school in evenings to work on projects, and continue to support the school as a coach. She is excited to get to know the Sacred Heart Catholic Church families in the school setting. Overall, Kim Lies is a great teacher, mother, and person to know, I am proud to say she is my Confirmation Sponsor and it has been a privilege to write this article.