Faculty and Staff

Mrs. Kohlstedt is in her eighth year of administration at St. Mary School. She completed her most recent graduate work for her Reading Specialist and Principal license at Viterbo, where she also teaches graduate coursework for teachers. Mrs. Kohlstedt is so happy that God has placed her at St. Mary School where she can share her love of God, learning, and service with an amazing staff and student body. When she is not at school, Mrs. Kohsltedt loves spending time with her family, especially her husband and three children. She also enjoys cooking, reading, and traveling whenever she can.

Mrs. Tydrich has been working for St. Mary School for the past 10 years in the preschool program. She is the 4K teacher and has been with the program since it started. She loves working with the precious, energetic 4 and 5 year olds that begin their academic life at St. Mary. Mrs. Tydrich was blessed to receive the Diocese of LaCrosse Preschool Teacher of the Year award for the 2019-2020 school year. Her mission is to give her young students a foundation for their learning years based on fun, playing, virtues, and God's word. Mrs. Tydrich is proud of her family - her husband Tony, four children, two daughter-in-laws and one granddaughter. Mrs. Tydrich enjoys running, hiking, skiing, paddle boarding, or anything that gets her moving outside.

Ms. Krajco is in her fifth full year of teaching Kindergarten at St. Mary School. She graduated from UW-Eau Claire with a degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Mathematics. She just recently completed her Reading 316 License through Viterbo and is finishing up her last few classes for her Master’s Degree in Education. Ms. Krajco is proud to be teaching at a Christ-centered school that also happens to be her alma mater. In her free time, she loves to coach gymnastics, bake, and travel.

Ms. Urbach has been teaching for the last 42 years. She has been in education for all of her working life. She has always taught the 2nd grade and she loves it! She has been at St. Mary School in Richland Center for the last 28 years. Before that, she was in Colby, Wisconsin in the beginning of her teaching career. Ms. Urbach is the oldest of 6 children. Some of her hobbies include listening to music, reading and watching her favorite team play, the Packers, and she loves her furry companion Tiny, dearly. Ms. Urbach loves her job at St. Mary because her faith is a very important part of her life and she loves being able to make a difference in her student’s lives. Ms Urbach was both humbled and blessed to receive the Diocesan Elementary Teacher of the Year in the 2017-18 school year. She is now beginning to teach a 2nd generation of students, whose parents she taught already. Ms. Urbach loves being a part of such a beautiful place!!

Mrs. Pliner has been the third grade teacher at St. Mary School for 34 years. Most of her teaching experience has been in the 3rd grade, but she also taught 3 years in Kindergarten when the program first began. Prior to working at St. Mary, she was a substitute teacher in the surrounding area. She is married and has 2 grown children, Stacie and Michael. She loves to walk, scrapbook, ride bike, and spend time with her family. She loves helping children learn new things. Math and Science are her favorite subjects to teach. She loves teaching at St. Mary because of the friendly and helpful co-workers and families.

Mrs. Murphy has been around many years at St. Mary doing substitute teaching. She has been teaching at St. Mary for 18 years and has enjoyed every year. Mrs. Murphy teaches 4th grade and enjoys it very much. She taught 5th grade for one year, and Old World History for a couple years, which was a dream come true. One of her favorite jobs has been assisting the middle school students in Forensics. Mrs. Murphy has two children and two grandsons. Mrs. Murphy enjoys cooking, reading, walking, watching ball games of every kind, cowboy shows, and anything History.

Ms. Hall joined the St. Mary staff in January of 2020 and finished out the school year as 6th grade homeroom teacher and instructor of math for grades 5-8. This is her fourth “official” year of teaching after serving as a long-time substitute teacher in the Richland School District, Riverdale School District and St. Mary School. Ms. Hall enjoys spending time with her family, including her two daughters. In her spare time, Ms. Hall plays the piano and organ and loves to read. As a native of Virginia, Ms. Hall looks forward to opportunities to travel and visit with family and friends each summer.

Mrs. Cooper is in her 17th year teaching students at St. Mary School and has been in the education field for 23 years. She has a B.S. degree in Agriculture from UW-River Falls, and completed her teaching certification through Saint Mary’s University in Winona, Minnesota. Mrs. Cooper is also a Notre Dame Senior Trustey STEM Fellow and has helped bring STEM Education to the staff and students at St. Mary School. She also serves as an advisor for student council and SeaPerch, and works with Mrs. Tiffany Lemke (Garden Director) in providing regenerative agriculture practices and lessons for our school garden to students. Some of Mrs. Cooper’s hobbies include working on her farm, being a 4H leader in shooting sports, crafting, and enjoying and foraging in her woods at her home. She has been married to her husband Jerry for 31 years and has two grown children, Ryley and Madison. Mrs. Cooper stated that, “St. Mary School is like my second home and my extended family lives there. The love and support I receive from my peers and students is priceless.”

Mrs. Ueeck is in her 12th year of teaching, and her 6th year at St. Mary’s. She is the middle school English teacher and teaches the 8th grade homeroom classes. She is an alumna of both St. Mary School and Richland Center High School. Mrs. Ueeck holds an Associate's Degree from UW-Richland and a Bachelor's Degree in English Education from UW-Platteville. She and her husband, James, manage a small organic beef cattle farm on the land that Mrs. Ueeck grew up on. They have 2 young children, Alexander and Elizabeth. Mrs. Ueeck enjoys spending time with her family, snuggling with her cat, cross-stitching, going on walks, and playing video games. She also loves reading and singing.

Mrs. Bauer is delighted to be in her twelfth year of teaching at St. Mary School, where she once attended as a student. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater with a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Communication and a minor in Human Resources Management. Mrs. Bauer began teaching at St. Mary as a substitute teacher before taking on the role as Computer Teacher. She is grateful to be able to share the blessing of her faith through her career with her students, their families, and her colleagues. As technology has evolved over the years, one of the newer additions to the technology center is our 3D printer! Outside of the classroom, much of her time is spent with family, including her husband and their two daughters. Most especially, she loves watching her girls’ music and sporting events, traveling, boating, playing games, and watching movies.

This is Mrs. Drier’s third year at St. Mary School working as an Interventionist. Prior to joining the St. Mary staff, she taught high school science in Columbus, WI, and also spent time working for Southwest Wisconsin Technical College as an Adult Education Instructor. At St. Mary School, she enjoys the opportunity to provide students with additional support in literacy and math, along with facilitating some of the Gift and Talented activities. She has two sons who attend the school. In her free time she enjoys reading, running, biking, gardening, and spending time with her family.

Mr. Krajco is semi-retired after spending 40 years in the dairy industry. Teaching Physical Education was an unexpected detour on the way to retirement. He feels blessed to have the opportunity to give back to St. Mary School and Church. Mr. Krajco, along with this wife Laurie, sent all four of their children to St. Mary School. Currently, three grandchildren attend the school. Mr. Krajco graduated from the University of LaCrosse with a degree in Geography, and a minor in Psychology. He has also coached girls and boys basketball for over 20 years, with many of those years at St. Mary School.

Mrs. Marshall first came to St. Mary School quite a number of years ago as a student, attending grades 1 through 8. She returned in the fall of 2010 to work with Mrs. Patti Valasak as a kindergarten aide for 6 years. In 2016 when the school librarian opportunity became available, she moved to the school library to fill that vacancy. Mrs. Marshall is a lover of books and is always on the lookout for great books that will encourage the students to read more. She loves book requests from the students and does her best to fill those requests. She also loves decorating the library and its very large bulletin board. In 2018 she added to her library duties as she began teaching art classes for grades K through 8. Mrs. Marshall loves her art room and creating all types of art with the students. It is truly her "happy place". In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family, drawing, painting, reading and researching her Irish heritage. She is also "dog mom" to two Mini Dachshunds, Frasier and Baron.

This is Mrs. Burns’ first year as a 4K teacher’s aide at St. Mary School. Mrs. Burns graduated from UW-Platteville with a degree in Elementary Education. She has spent the last five years as a stay at home mom and teaching online. Prior to her time at home, she taught 4K for 2 years and First Grade for 5 years. She is married and has three children. Mrs. Burns is excited for her time in 4K. The greatest feeling comes when children accomplish something new and it is displayed in their smiles! Mrs. Burns feels very blessed to have the opportunity to work at St. Mary because her faith is very important to her. In her free time Mrs. Burns loves to spend time with her family and friends. She also enjoys baking, kayaking, and spending time outdoors.

This is Mrs.Kinney's third year at St. Mary School working as the 4K aide. After working 26 years at a local bank and then 9-1/2 years at the Richland Medical Center, she retired but decided a part time position working at two of her grandkids school was a great idea! And it certainly was! Her husband is a local builder, she has two grown children & four grandchildren. Her daughter’s two kids attend St. Mary School & her son lives in Indiana with the other two grands. She enjoys doing yard work, her flowers, ranger riding, card games & any activity that involves time spent with family and friends!

This is Mrs. Mueller’s fourth year at St. Mary School. She spends most of her time leading small reading groups in Kindergarten through 3rd Grade. She also loves getting to know all students while supervising K-2 recess. She currently has three children who attend the school. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her family and running her kids to their various activities.

This is Mrs. Weiss’ second year at St. Mary School. Mrs. Weiss has a Health Education degree from UW-LaCrosse. She has seven children. Four of them have already graduated from St. Mary School. She loves being part of the school and helping teach kids. She is grateful to be able to live her Catholic Faith within the walls of her job. In her free time she enjoys watching her very active children do what they love.

Mrs. Nichole Myers is our part time School Secretary. Mrs. Myers is returning to the office for her third year in this role. She joined the Administrative team after being an Aide in our 4K classroom and a substitute teacher for St. Mary’s since Spring 2018. She is married to Dr. Bryan Myers and they have three children enrolled at St. Mary’s, one daughter and two sons. In her spare time, Mrs. Myers enjoys spending time with friends and family, scrapbooking, gardening, cooking and traveling. Mrs. Myers received her bachelor’s degree with a major in Sociology and a minor in Social Work from Carroll University in Waukesha, WI. In addition, she has completed courses to certify her to teach Elementary Education. Despite having her teaching certification, Mrs. Myers has found the daily interaction with families, staff, and students through the office to be highly rewarding and she looks forward to working with all of our students and families this year!

Mrs. Weeden is a part time school secretary, and it is her first year in the new role. It is also the first year each of her four children will be in school, all are students at St. Mary. Prior to this school year, Mrs. Weeden was in the school often volunteering with various other duties. She looks forward to more interaction with the students and their families on a more regular basis. In her free time ,she enjoys adventures with her family, reading, hiking, and supporting her children in their various extracurricular activities.