Faculty & Staff

Hello, my name is Michaela Yoder. I did not grow up in a Christian home, but I attended church with my brother wherever we were able to go. I had to make the choice during the week whether I was attending church or activities because I didn’t have the guidance or direction from a Christian leader in my home. There were times that I chose not to go to church or activities, but I never gave on my faith journey, and I am forever grateful for the people who I have met along the way who were guiding, leading, and preparing me for who I am today. 

My father passed away twenty years ago and there are many details of my life and church attendance before that which I cannot recall. Once we moved in with my stepdad, there were friends of his that called and asked if Michaela and Ethan would like to come to the Children’s church at their church. From then on, (the age of 7 or 8), I attended Children’s church, Sunday school, and other children’s activities that the church held. Our parents would take us to and from church if we wanted to go or the church van would pick us up as well. They let us attend church camps and church activities whenever we were able to go and didn’t discourage us from anything which was a blessing.

I got saved during one of my years at church camp and then continued my long faith journey which still has its ups and downs. I have been a part of a variety of churches during my life - when I was still living at home with my parents, when I was away at college, and when I started dating and married my husband.  I have been married to my husband Michael for 5 years. We have two children; Miles is two, and Meredith is five months. We currently attend Allensville Mennonite Church where we have been for about two years.

Fun Fact: During my eighth-grade year at Southern Huntingdon County School while playing junior high basketball, we faced off against BMS. BMS had only five players on the team, and we were playing them on my home court. The game was going great until one of the players and I were going after the ball, and she ended up head butting me and sending me to the emergency room where I had a broken nose and had nose surgery a week or so later to fix it. I was able to play after weeks of healing but had to wear a face mask during games. 

I am the Learning Support teacher here at BMS where I work with students from elementary up to high school. This is my sixth-year teaching and two of those years have been here at BMS. I graduated from southern Huntingdon County School District in 2015 and then went to Lock Haven University. I graduated in 2019 from LHU with a dual degree in PreK – 4th Elementary Education and PreK – 8th Special Education. Once I graduated, I landed a job at my alma mater where I was the Special Education teacher there serving students K-5th grade at one of the three elementary schools. My first year of teaching in the classroom was cut short because of covid, but I still called, checked in, and sent work home for each of the students that I worked with. The following year I moved to another of the three elementary schools where I was still the Special Education teacher, but I was only working with K-3rd grade. I stayed at this school for three years. Along with my students in grades K-3rd grade, I also worked with two students in the home setting due to various medical restrictions. After four years in the public school, I knew I needed a change. Even though it took three years of individuals sending me texts about various positions that were open at BMS, I finally took the leap of the faith to fill out the application to apply. 

The first time one of the people who sent me a text about an opening at BMS, I was excited because I knew I want to be closer home, but I also wanted to be in an educational environment that displayed the same Christian values I had. When I went to look up the application I filled out the first few parts with ease and no questions or hesitations. Then we get to the statements of Christian faith and commitments, and I fell apart. These questions made me question if I am even worthy of teaching at BMS because I couldn’t answer the questions based on what I already know as a Christian. I was still learning and growing as a Christian even though I was older I didn’t have the greatest foundation in Bible learning and understanding of truth that God has for us. I gave up on that year on the questions and then another year went by where I gave up on the questions. Then the third time that someone sent me message, I finally was ready for a change from public school and took a few weeks of talking through and reading and praying for the questions that were on the application and submitted it. I couldn’t be happier with where I am today teaching at BMS. 

There was a lot to think about considering I taught in a public school for four years. I was familiar with the people who I was working with, and I knew the area and what to expect. With one more year of teaching in public school I could have had my student loans paid in full. This would have been a financial blessing, but what meant more to me than paying off my student loans was the time I would get with my son after work from not having to travel or not getting home from work till 5:00 or 5:30 and the environment in which I wanted to teach students. Being at BMS has been a place of nurturing not just students to where they are at but also us as teachers. We start every day praying, having devotions, and talking about how each of us are. We pray for each other and if we have something to talk about there is always a listening ear and someone to pray with you when things can just be too much. 

BMS has been a place where I can grow as a teacher and help students who need that little extra help and support to get them to be the best version of themselves. I have been fortunate to be able to be here and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for me here at BMS and the future of the students who I work with. As the learning support teacher, I work with a variety of ages of students and the academic ability of students. I love that I can work with students who need that little extra boost or reteaching from what was already taught in the classroom. I can work alongside my co-workers on what would help each student be successful in their subject. I try to build self-confidence and independence in my students to complete assignments on their own but still ask for assistance when things get difficult. In my experiences as a learning support teacher, BMS teachers are willing to go above and beyond to help every student succeed in their academics.