Cassie Joffre has a love for books, reading and young people, so her employment with Italy I.S.D. as the new librarian should be a perfect fit for her and her students.

“I am excited about working with our students,” said Joffre. “I plan to keep many of the traditions that Mrs. Farmer left in place like ‘Reading Marathon’ in November and ‘Read it Forward’ in April. She was gracious in allowing me to shadow her for a day last spring where she shared several ideas as well as operating instructions for the library. I also have a few new ideas that I would like to add for our students.”

Mrs. Joffre would like to have the library open before and after school for students who need a quiet homework place or for those who need help in coursework. She plans to coordinate with the National Honor Society sponsor to set up peer tutoring which would give the NHS students a chance to earn some of their service hours.

“The NHS members could earn hours by helping other students who may struggle in some of their classes. This would also reinforce learning for the NHS students,” Joffre said.

Cassie is originally from Catoosa, Oklahoma, and attended K-12th grade there. After graduation, she initially majored in nursing at the University of Oklahoma. Since the 2nd grade though, she had wanted to be a teacher, so she transferred to Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford and earned a degree in English Education.

“My mom was a talented teacher who always loved ‘her other kids’. I also had many great teachers all through school who influenced my decision to teach. My love of English was developed in high school when I was fortunate enough to have an exceptional English teacher my sophomore and senior years. Mrs. Banks loved English, taught it exceptionally well, and instilled that love in her students.”

Cassie is married to Lee Joffre, the principal at Italy High School. They met while teaching at Nichols Junior High School in Arlington.

“We always say we met in Junior High,” she said with a smile. “Lee was teaching math and I was teaching ESL. We were married in July of 2005. We have two beautiful sons – Levi is six years old and Rowan is 3 ½.”

The Joffre’s are active members of Central Baptist Church in Italy. One of her favorite hobbies, when time permits, is reading. Cassie also loves to cook, bake and sew, and spend time with her family outdoors.

“Although Mrs. Farmer is going to be hard to replace, we are excited to have Mrs. Joffre. Of course I am biased because she is my wife, but we have worked together before. I have seen firsthand how she cares for and educates children. She will be a great asset to our students and our district,” said Lee Joffre.

Mrs. Joffre’s philosophy is very simple. Her dad always told her that an honest job is something worthwhile, so she hopes she can help prepare her students to be productive when they leave Italy High School. She wants to equip them to have a successful future because she believes that is one of the jobs of a school.

“I love Italy and the atmosphere here,” said Joffre. “The people are genuine. I prefer a smaller district, so Italy is perfect for me. Here, I can connect with my students and keep up with them. That is really hard to do in a larger district.”

Cassie has stayed in contact with several of the students she taught previously. They contact her periodically with things that are happening in their lives.

“I believe when you make a difference in young peoples’ lives, they remember you; I want all my students to remember me.”