Westberg retires after 33 years at Tri-County

Jeff Westberg describes himself as an “old school” teacher, a method which must have worked; after thirty-three years of teaching elementary grades at Tri-County School, he is retiring.

Westberg grew up in Warren, Minn., and attended college at Northland and UND, graduating with a degree in Elementary Education with a coaching minor.

After completing his teaching and coaching practicum at Oslo, Minn., Westberg interviewed for teaching positions and ultimately decided on Karlstad.

Originally the plan was to just “get their feet wet” and get tenured in teaching, but he and wife Dean’a ended up staying and raising their two children here. “We found out it was a great place to raise kids,” Westberg said.

Westberg started out teaching at Karlstad and when the school consolidated with Strandquist, he taught third grade there for a number of years. “The Strandquist years were a lot of fun,” he said, crediting to his fellow teachers and the small town atmosphere.

For more, see this week’s North Star News!