News

Phillip Magnet Elementary School's 4th-grade lead teacher Shauna Kadel tries her best “to provide a warm, structured, and fun learning environment” - much like the one created by her Browns Valley Elementary School teachers, Alex Peters, Kay Soper, and June Bowen. 

Kadel attended Browns Valley Elementary School, Kindergarten through 4th grade, and was inspired by her 4th-grade teacher Mr. Peters to become a teacher herself. She shares, “At end of 4th grade, my family moved to Southern California. However, I kept in touch with Mr. Peters for many, many years.” Kadel continued her education in Southern California, ultimately graduating from Troy High School in Fullerton and attending the University of Califonia, Davis. She later worked at NVUSD schools for four years, as a teacher at Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District in Southern California for another three, and then returned to Napa and NVUSD as a teacher at Phillip Magnet.

Kadel’s history in education and with the District goes back even further than Kindergarten, however. Her mother Donna Kadel worked for NVUSD, her father Ed Kadel subbed in the District after a career in corporate human resources, Kadel met her husband Josh Buttny, a teacher, at NVUSD, and even taught her stepdaughter in 4th-grade reading. Her brother Ward Kadel also has ties to the District, as a graduate of Vintage High School.

“When I was getting my credential at night at Chapman University and subbing for NVUSD during the day,” she shared, “I finally got a call to substitute teach at Browns Valley Elementary. I was making copies in the staff room and Mr. Peters walked in. He looked at me and said, ‘Well Shauna...you made it!’ It was one of the happiest moments of my life!”

Ms. Kadel has made it and continues her family's legacy of education at NVUSD. Her commitment to her classes, her school, and to education is evidenced each day.