Jeff Multanen is the 6th grade math teacher on the Siskiyou team here at AMS. In his 12th year, Jeff taught Health and PE when he was first hired in 2011 and has taught Math for the past 7 years. Additionally, Jeff coaches basketball (both girls’ and boys’ teams) and track (he is the jumps coach).
Jeff grew up along the Columbia River northeast of Portland in St. Helens, Oregon and attended Southern Oregon University for his undergraduate degree. He got his Masters in Teaching from SOU as well in 2006. After graduation, Jeff subbed in Idaho and Salem for 5 years. One evening, he noticed that Ashland Middle School had an opening for a PE/Health teacher, and as he had done some of his student teaching at AMS, he hopped on the opportunity. We were only too happy to get Jeff back on staff!
Jeff met his partner Lacey while teaching PE to students at Trails Outdoor School. They now have three boys—Caiden who is 12 and attends Scenic Middle School, Koda who is 6 and in kindergarten at Central Point Elementary, and Emmett who is 4. When he’s not here at AMS, Jeff loves hanging out with his boys and playing basketball—he’s very much looking forward to continuing the staff’s unbeaten streak in the Staff vs. Students basketball game.
About AMS, Jeff says, “Every day is a little different. There’s structure to the day, but when you have 28 kids in a classroom, it’s a constant improvisational act of adjusting to each kid’s needs. It’s what makes each day so fresh and interesting. I also love the staff! Everybody is super helpful and approachable—from the administration down to the EA’s.”