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Hayden — Eight new Hayden School District staff members reported for duty Friday. They came from as far as Iowa and as near as Craig to fill posts at Hayden Valley Elementary School and Hayden Middle School.

Some said they were nervous. All said they were excited for the Sept. 2 start of school.

Ashley Manning is embarking on her first teaching job, handling seventh- and eighth-grade English at the middle school. The Iowa native has family in Hayden and Craig.

"I'm excited to just jump in," Manning said. "I think sitting around is making me anxious."

Manning is one of several new faces that sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders will see this year. The middle school has replaced four of its seven teachers, Principal Gina Zabel said.

"It was a little unexpected, the ones that left," Zabel said. "But I'm excited about what we have. I think it'll be good. Change is good."

Manning said she was glad to be surrounded by people in a similar situation.

"That's what I'm most looking forward to, is all the new teachers," she said. "We're not going to be blindsided."

Greg Johnson was hired this year to handle middle school special education and to coach volleyball. He's from Chicago, but Johnson knows his way around the Yampa Valley. He worked last year as a school-based mentor at Steamboat Springs Middle School with Partners in Routt County.

Johnson said the only tough thing has been the mound of paperwork he needs to complete for his special-education certification.

"It's pretty intimidating," he said.

Keri Luedtke will teach fourth grade down the street from Manning and Johnson. She and her husband, Dan, moved from the Denver area because they wanted to raise their children in a small community. Their daughter, Holland, is 2, and their son, Hunter, is 4.

The couple lives in Steamboat, and Luedtke's parents run a guest ranch north of Hayden.

"My husband and I grew up in small towns," Luedtke said. "We both wanted to raise our kids in a small town. We always knew Steamboat would be our home."

That doesn't mean she won't be involved in Hayden, of course. Luedtke said she was excited to work with parents.

"I'm looking forward to getting involved with a community again," Luedtke said. "I was teaching in Aurora for the last eight years, and it was a very urban district. There were a lot of single parents working two and three jobs and not having time to be as involved as they wanted."