First days seem to always bring up nostalgic memories. From moms taking photos with a sign routinely each year to a special breakfast commemorating the day, the first day of school is filled with new beginnings and long standing traditions.
DePaul College Prep is a hub for new teachers, seeing as there are fresh faces present each year. Dr. Stanton Anderson, principal of DePaul College Prep, says that DePaul Prep has hired 31 new teachers over this past year. Of that group, 16 were to assist with the growth of the student body and the remaining were to replace departing faculty members. Also hired this year are 2 new Mission and Ministry members as well as 2 new counselors, and a new Learning Specialist.
For the new teachers at DePaul Prep, the process of their first day can be, and usually is, very different. New teachers Riley Steffey-Wright and Alex Reeves talk about their experience so far as the “new kids” at DePaul Prep. More specifically, they explained what being here really means to them and how they connect their personal lives with the way Rams lead faithful and Vincentian livelihoods.
Steffey-Wright is starting as a theology teacher to juniors and seniors, teaching ethics and world religions. Reeves is starting as a full-time teacher this year at DePaul Prep, instead of a student teacher like he was last year. He is teaching world and US history this year to freshmen and juniors.
Steffey-Wright and Reeves both had different experiences when it came to finding their way to DePaul College Prep. They understood that they wanted to become teachers at two different stages of their lives, but followed through because of their strong passion for change and giving students a new perspective.
Reeves talked about his decision to become a teacher, particularly honing in on “helping students develop positive civic engagement skills and fight disinformation.” Above all, Reeves wants to help students critically think about the world around them.
Steffey-Wright expressed a different influence of her decision, pairing her life back at home with influence from her family. She mentioned that the long line of educators within her family was one of the major influences in her life when choosing her field. However, it wasn’t until college when she finally realized her passion for theology and social justice.
Steffey-Wright also mentioned a unique perspective she is able to offer as a teacher, as she grew up on a farm instead of a bigger city like the students she teaches. She mentioned how this background was able to open her students’ eyes to a new way of thinking about certain issues that they may not have thought about before.
Both Reeves and Steffey-Wright spoke about the culture and community of our school, those qualities being the most influential in their decision to come here.
Steffey-Wright specifically spoke about the local benefits that our school brings to the table, right in the heart of Lakeview where inclusion and diversity are prioritized .
“I loved that DePaul Prep was on the north side of Chicago, that has been my home for a long time. Mostly I loved that DePaul was both religious and progressive. Seeing that this is a community of faith that supports LGBTQ+ students and is supporting the question of immigrants and migrants is really inspiring to me,.” she said.
Reeves spoke on the comfortability of the school, seeing as he was a student teacher here last year and gained his teaching credentials at DePaul University.
“My experience being a student teacher here, I love my department colleagues and the kids have been amazing, cooperative, and diligent within their work. I am from DePaul University, which has a lot of the same values as DePaul Prep – very social justice oriented, very inclusive. ” This perspective allowed Reeves to connect with his students on a deeper level, since he has been practicing Vincentian values for years now.
These values upheld here at DePaul Prep shape the curriculum and the way students live their lives on a day to day basis. Steffey-Wright speaks about her love for two specific values that we have, health being one of them. She mentions that our school’s ability to see faculty and students as whole people, apart from just our brains is something admirable.
She also mentioned her appreciation for the value of excellence through connecting it to her previous education, “I come from a Scottish, top tier educational system so I have a lot of respect and high expectations for what education is and can be and I definitely want to bring that into my classroom.”
Apart from our school values, Reeves and Steffey-Wright have their own set of values that they live by every day.
Reeves talked about his set of personal values: equity, criticality, service, and compassion. These values very closely align with ones that DePaul Prep students practice each day here at DePaul Prep, FRESH. Along with this, he stressed the importance of looking deeper into information presented to his students, especially concerning political information.
Both Reeves and Steffey-Wright mentioned an overall seamless transition into the year. Since he was already a part of our school community last year, Reeves transition into the DePaul Prep environment wasn’t completely foreign. Although he isn’t particularly fond of the planning and administrative work that is done daily; he loves the day to day work with the students, mentioning that building a relationship with them so far has been great.
Although she was expecting a rough transition, Steffey-Wright was met with nothing but “wonderful colleagues and students who are generally excited to be here.” She also mentioned her appreciation for the level of comradery surrounding sports here at DePaul Prep.
