Starting at a new school can be intimidating for both educators and students alike. For Kelly Wedlake, Joseph Larson, and Paige Eiffert, DePaul College Prep has already become something more than a new workplace, it has become a community.
Wedlake, who is a social studies teacher and cheer coach, came to DePaul Prep after a decade of teaching at a charter school on Chicago’s South Side. “It’s been amazing,” she said. Wedlake said that she enjoys how the cooperative atmosphere and hardworking students have made the transition smoother. “Everybody here is so collaborative, like, on the faculty side. It’s really nice to have teachers to plan with, bounce ideas off of,” she said.
Her hope for the year is to help her AP students thrive and boost enthusiasm for sociology. “I’d like to see eighty-five percent of my students pass the APUSH test,” she said. Wedlake stated that her philosophy of teaching is high-expectation coupled with warmth philosophy. “I wouldn’t ask students to do something I didn’t think they could do,” she said. “I really try to celebrate their successes, even if it is not what they were expecting for themselves.”
The theology department also has a new member. Theology teacher Joseph Larson is settling into life at DePaul Prep after moving from Los Angeles. “When people ask how things are in Chicago, the first thing I say is, oh, well, I love my job,” Larson said. He was inspired by the community’s vibrancy and drawn to the school’s Vincentian mission. “Everyone seems so busy and so active and involved in it,” he said.
Larson encourages conversation and creativity in all his classes. “I don’t think of it as me lecturing students, so much as me collaborating with them,” he said. “Sometimes they bring stuff to the classroom that I didn’t see coming, and that might be the best way for them to learn something.” He is hoping for balance in his third year of teaching. “My biggest goal is probably to find a good work-life balance,” he said. “DePaul’s making that really, really easy.”
The school’s community and the enthusiasm of her freshman students have been the highlights of Eiffert’s first year. “It’s been awesome,” she said. “The people that I work with are great, but really what makes it so awesome is the students. They make me laugh every single day.”
Eiffert, who is a DePaul University graduate, teaches biology and brings a hands-on approach to the classroom. “I try to fit as much hands-on stuff as I can into the classroom, so that it’s not just them taking notes all day,” she said. Her students often work in pairs or small groups to be able to bounce ideas off each other. “I very rarely say, ‘Here’s an assignment, go do it on your own.’ It’s usually a partner activity or group work.”
Eiffert hopes her students learn more than biology in her class. “I want them to feel welcome in this school and know they have a trusted adult they could always go to,” she said. She also hopes to help her students develop organizational and self-advocacy skills that will serve them for many years beyond freshman year.
Though Wedlake, Larson, and Eiffert all teach different subjects, the group shares an ambition to encourage curiosity and community in their classrooms. Whether through mock history, open discussions of spirituality, or laboratory collaboration, these three first-year teachers are making their mark on DePaul Prep, one lesson, and one student, at a time.
