Andy Brandt is excited to be a member of West High after a quick turnaround from Hills Bank salesman to business teacher. 

Immediately after graduating from St. Ambrose in Davenport, Iowa, Brandt joined Hills Bank as a teller because of his love for managing finances. He eventually worked his way into a sales position for the company, but as his two young daughters got older, he reexamined what he wanted for his life. 

“I was on call 24/7 as a salesperson. As my oldest daughter was getting to preschool age I thought, ‘Do I want to do this for the next 30 years?’ I started thinking about things I might miss out on,” Brandt said. 

As working as a salesman became less of a long-term option for him and his family, Brandt began to look for other ways he could continue his passion for business and finance. Having a family full of educators inspired him to become one as well. 

“School became a lot more of a reality and I have educators all around in my family. And then I felt like if I’m going to make the jump, I’m gonna do it now while I’m relatively young, versus waiting,” Brandt said. 

Once Brandt made the decision to switch into teaching, he joined a two year fast-track career change program with Morningside University. The program required observation hours with active teachers, and for his second semester Brandt ended up with West High business teacher Diane Fickel. 

“I’m a big believer in ‘things happen for a reason,’ and from day one of being with Miss Fickel, there was a really nice connection,” Brandt said. “Then when West’s business [teacher] position opened up, she let me know about it and suggested that I apply.”

With the career change, Brandt is excited for the opportunity to work under his mentor, Mrs. Fickel, and to get involved in West’s vibrant school community. 

“Number one school in the state, that’s something to hang your hat on for sure. So to be a part of that is a great feeling,” Brandt said. “I want to get settled and have roots here.”

West High alum and new math teacher Ronan Smith ’20 grew up loving math and science, but didn’t figure out his love for teaching until later on. During his time at West, Smith experimented with math club and took as many AP science courses as he could.

“Math and science were always big things for me. I wasn’t on the accelerated track, but I did just fine,” Smith said.

After his time at West, Smith decided to pursue a math and physics degree at Iowa State University, and he began working as a teachers assistant in various labs around campus. He found he enjoyed the experience more than he ever thought he would.

“It was fun to help people figure out math and science for the first time,” Smith said. 

After realizing how much he benefited from teaching others, Smith pursued a master’s in secondary math education. Upon graduating, Smith applied to schools across Iowa, not knowing he would end up working for his own former high school. 

“When I was applying to jobs, I looked up every one of the 45 school districts within a half hour of here,” Smith said. “I interviewed at Liberty, and then they referred me to here when Mr. Bach left.”

Since coming to West, Smith has sought guidance from fellow math teachers like Gabriel Elsden, James Kirpes and Angela Sage. 

“I have been having difficulties managing my algebra class. So I’ve been talking to Elsden and Sage and the other algebra teachers a lot more,” Smith said. 

Smith admires the environment at West and he hopes to combine his love of math and teaching while contributing to the amazing community West has to offer. 

“I’m excited to help perpetuate that culture of everyone coming here to do something and coming here to learn and to have fun while they do that,” Smith said. 

Jason Kern is West’s new PE and health teacher, but is also succeeding Coach Bergman as West’s head boys basketball coach.

Kern knew he wanted to coach because of his dad, who was a coach and PE teacher his entire life. Being around so many sports, and watching his dad’s influence in them, inspired Kern to pursue a career in the field. 

“Growing up in a gym and seeing that environment, you know, I loved it as a kid, being able to go to the gym with my dad whenever they practiced,” Kern said. 

After graduating from Northwestern State University in Louisiana, Kern took a head coaching job at a high school in Louisiana for three years and got engaged to his wife. Then, when his wife got a job at the University of Iowa, Kern followed and coached at West Branch for seven years. 

“This would be my 10th total year being a head coach at a high school level, and my 13th year teaching,” Kern said. 

Taking over for Coach Bergman, who was head basketball coach for 38 years, Kern admits it will be hard to fill his shoes. To prepare, Kern has been holding open gyms and getting to know the students he’ll be coaching. 

“I have to coach to our personnel and play to our strengths and weaknesses,” Kern said. “So as a coach here I’m always trying to prepare and get those guys ready to put them in the best situation they can be on the court.

Kern is excited to coach at a school as large and prestigious as West. He hopes to continue West’s basketball success and bring his team to the state championships.

“Bergman obviously left this program in a very good place, winning six state titles and making West High one of the basketball powerhouses in the state of Iowa,” Kern said. “So I’m excited for the opportunity to be able to lead a program like this and take it into the next stages that it needs to go to.”

Kern recognizes the importance of coaching not just on the court but off it as well. Leading his students to success is the most important goal for Kern.

 “The ball is going to stop bouncing at some point, and I want my [students] to become good young men, and hopefully, good fathers and husbands, someday too,” Kern said, 

West welcomes former West High student Ashley McMahon as a new French teacher, moving from her previous role as a paraeducator.

While completing her undergraduate degree in social work, McMahon quickly discovered a new love for teaching while working at Kirkwood Elementary School as a paraeducator. McMahon began her master’s in education while also completing a master’s program in French. She was not necessarily thinking of combining the two paths.

“[Once I] started working in a school, I realized I really really liked it. And so once I finished my undergraduate degree, I went into a master’s in education because I wanted to be a teacher,” McMahon said.

Before coming to West, McMahon worked at Hoover Elementary in Cedar Rapids as an ELL teacher, with this being her first year teaching the French language. With the need for a new French teacher at West, McMahon took the opportunity to teach students about the language she loves.

“French was a language that I knew […] and so I was excited by the opportunity to use the language I really enjoyed studying in my teaching,” McMahon said. 

McMahon finds the switch from ELL teacher to French teacher different through age levels, going from elementary students to high school students, but also very similar based on teaching how to communicate. 

“A big difference would be my role. I was an ELL teacher at Hoover, and then I’m a French teacher here, but in both cases, you’re teaching kids how to communicate in a new language and teaching them how to take risks in a new language. And so there’s similarities and big differences, but are more and more alike than you would think,” McMahon said.

This year, McMahon is looking forward to helping students grow and learn how to communicate in a new way. 

“I’m just excited to see kids grow and get better at French,” McMahon said.

West High welcomes back Rachel Ruisch as a new science teacher, after she was a student teacher at West last year. 

In the fall of last year, before graduating from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, Ruisch student taught with chemistry teacher Megan Bildner. Ruisch became an instant favorite with students, helping students learn and showing her passion for science. 

Always thinking about the world with a scientific eye, Ruisch has always had a passion for all things science. Inspired by how physics shows what’s happening around her or the chemistry of what she eats, Ruisch is always fascinated by how the world works through science.

“I’ve always loved science, in particular, sciences that are related to math. I’m just kind of constantly thinking about them. I just found those subjects really interesting, and I’m very passionate about them and teaching them to people,” Ruisch said.

Ruisch has known she wanted to be a science teacher since her first day of college, after responding to the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” was quickly shot at her. Originally attending Cornell with an interest in dentistry, her instinctive response to the question prompted her to begin rethinking her future. 

“Somebody asked me, what do you want to be when you grow up? And I said, I want to teach science. I was originally a dentistry [major]. So I was like, ‘Oh, maybe I should do that, if that’s something I instinctually want to do,’” Ruisch said. 

Coming back to West after student teaching just made sense to Ruisch, after building connections with both students and faculty. By knowing the basics of the curriculum and the flow of West, Ruisch finds it helpful to ease into her first year of teaching while continuing to learn from her mentor and now co-worker, Bildner.

“I just feel like we’ve gotten so much closer,” Ruisch said. “She’s been such a great person for me to look up to. She’s a fantastic teacher, and I really enjoy learning things from her.”

When asked about why she wanted to come back to West, Ruisch said, “I really loved all my students, I think that the kindness that the students showed me and the patience as I was learning how to teach was something that really motivated me to want to be back in this building with those same types of students.”

This year, Ruisch is looking forward to continuing her bond with students through activities such as labs and helping them see the world from a new perspective.