Western had many new teachers join the WAHS family this year. Among them is Alsha Brown. Brown teaches 9th and 10th grade English at Honors and Standard levels, and is already a class favorite.  She is kicking off her seventh year of teaching and her first at Western.

Q: Where else have you taught before Western?

A: I started off in Hampton. I taught at a middle school called Syms middle school. That was a crazy experience, so I didn’t want to do middle school again. [I] went back to my hometown of Virginia Beach, taught at Bayside High School, and then came here.

Q: You said you’ve taught middle school, what grades have you taught?

A: Six, seven and eight. They started me off with eighth graders, and then they needed a reading specialist, so I hopped around in different classes as a reading specialist.

Q: What do you think inspired you to be a teacher?

A: Definitely the good teachers that I had growing up. I have a lot of really supportive people in my life who encouraged me and helped me outside of just the academic stuff.

Q: When you were growing up, did you have a favorite teacher?

A: Betsy Morris, she was my ninth grade English teacher, and then my public speaking teacher. She was just really fun and really bubbly and just always there for me if I needed to talk.

Q: Did you always want to be a teacher?

A: Not always. When I was a little kid, I wanted to be the president. And then after that, I thought I would go into something in science, because I was very interested in plants and gardening sciences. But ended up with my love for reading going into teaching English.

Q: What do you like to do in your free time?

A: I love to garden. I love to bake. I like crafting, anything I can make.

Q: What are your favorite and least favorite topics to teach?

A: I love to teach whole novels. I like to use horror stories with students. It’s really fun. Very personal way for them to connect. Grammar is my least interesting thing to teach, and I try to make it as fun as I can, but that’s my least favorite.

Q: Do you have a favorite book?

A: I have a lot of favorites. “Jane Eyre” is a classic that I love. The “Ink Heart” series was one of the first series of books I really got into. Then anything by Maggie Stiefvater I’ll like.

Q: What advice would you give your younger self, knowing that you know now?

A: Don’t be so pressured to be what you think people want. Focus on what makes you happy, what makes you comfortable. That took me a long time to get to that point.

The Learning Center at WAHS just welcomed Sarah Hayward, Western’s newest Reading Specialist, to its staff. She recently got her master’s from UVA, and has worked with both elementary school students and middle school students in the past. 

Q: Let’s just start with your name, family, and any pets.

A: Sure. I’m Sarah Hayward. I have a husband and two daughters. My oldest daughter, Ava Hayward, goes to school here. She’s in 10th grade. And then we have a lot of pets. We have a little farm so we have dogs and cats, chickens and turkeys. We like gardening and animals. 

Q: Any hobbies besides that?

A: I played sports all the way through college, so my husband and I still play soccer.

Q: What inspired you to start teaching?

A: Growing up, my teachers really saved me. As a child, I had a really tough home life, and my teachers went out of their way to make sure that my brother and I were really safe and felt comfortable. School is a place I couldn’t wait to be. I looked forward to it every day, so I wanted to do the same for students in my career. I wanted to help kids reach their potential and have a place they always felt like someone was there to help and care for them. 

Q: Can you think of a time where you’ve made a special connection with a student as a teacher?

A: I’m a reading teacher now, but I have been a classroom teacher most of my career, but reading has always been a focus, because I find myself gravitating towards the kids who struggle in school, whether that’s academically or socially. And so if I look back at my career, most of the students I was closest with were the ones who had kind of given up on themselves and hated coming to school, and I worked hard to make sure that that wasn’t the rest of their school career. So yeah, lots and lots of kids, and I live in an area where I worked, so I get to see them all grown up now, which is really nice.

Q: How has the shift to high school felt for you? Is it a lot different than elementary school? 

A: Well, two years ago, I was at the Central Office, and I was a literacy coach to help teachers be the best teachers they can be. And then I shifted again and went to middle school last year to help teachers, and also help struggling sixth, seventh, and eighth graders and when this job came open in high school, it just felt like exactly the right thing at the right time, because my career just seemed to be shifting in that direction. So the opportunity just opened right up for me.

Q: To clear up any confusion for the readers, what exactly is a reading specialist?

A: So a reading specialist can be lots of things depending on the environment that you’re working in, but in this school, I’m working with any student who has difficulty in reading, and that can be reading the words on the page or understanding what those words mean. For students I can always work one on one or in small groups. I also can work to support teachers, to make sure that they have what they need to support the students in their classrooms as readers, because reading is in every subject, and we know that that’s how people learn the actual information, is by reading it and processing it and writing about it. Lastly, I can work with the whole school division to make sure that we’re all giving students and teachers exactly what they need to be successful. 

Q: What’s a day in the life of Mrs. Hayward?

A: I’m still working on my schedule, but at the beginning of the year, one of the biggest tasks is assessing students to make sure that there aren’t students who have gaps that haven’t been addressed and that need support, and we just didn’t realize. So right now, a lot of my job is that, however, there are students that worked with Mrs. Vinson last year that I’m already working with, just to again, meet them, find where they are, and find the tools that they need to be successful here at Western.

Q: What’s your favorite part of your job so far?

A: This school is wonderful. Everyone has been so welcoming. And as you mentioned, being in high school for the first time, it was a little nerve wracking. The last time I was in high school was in 1999 so it’s a big shift. However, this is such a warm, welcoming place that has been just really wonderful.

Western welcomed Andrew Davis, a new counselor for the school this year. Davis was a counselor at Burley Middle School for 4 years prior to this. Davis doesn’t only care for kids here at our school, but also has a two year old daughter. Davis is excited to brighten our Western community and is ready for the school  year.

Q: How many years have you been a counselor?

A: This will be my fifth year as a school counselor. The last four years I was a school counselor at Burley, which is also a part of the Albemarle County Public Schools.

Q: Why did you decide to become a counselor?

A: I just think that being a school counselor is a unique position in the school where I get to know my students a little bit more intimately. I get to spend a little bit more time and develop relationships with them, and I really value that.

Q: What made you choose Western out of all the schools?

A: Wow, Western is just a great place. The culture of the school is fantastic. You’ve got students that really care about their education, and I love working for a team. My colleagues in this counseling office, they’re super professional, and I feel like I can learn a lot from them. So I’m really excited to be here

Q: After being here for the first couple weeks, what has surprised you the most?

A: I think I’m surprised the most by how much the student body cares about Western I can really tell that there’s a lot of pride about being a part of the school and being a part of this community, and that’s really cool for me to see. 

Q: Do you root for any sports teams?

A: So I grew up as a San Francisco 49ers fan, but lately, I’ve kind of turned into enjoying the sport more for individual athletes and and how, you know, transcendental they might be like Steph Curry is just amazing to watch. LeBron is amazing to watch. Tom Brady was amazing to watch. So I really enjoy watching athletes. And my family is Brazilian, so I support the Brazilian national team, all right.

Q: What do you do during your free time?

A: Wow, I am a father to a two year old, so I spend a lot of time with my wife and my daughter. We go to the park a lot, but when I truly have alone time for myself. I like to work out. I really like running and have trained for a couple marathons. And I also play the piano, but not very well, and you can put that in there. 

Q: What is one word that describes you? Just embodies you?

A: Dedicated.

Q: What is your favorite childhood memory?

A: Favorite childhood memory? So it goes back to being a sports fan. Man, Christmas morning, I woke up and there was a signed 49ers helmet. It was signed by my favorite player named Jerry Rice, who’s a wide receiver. I think I wore that thing too many places I probably shouldn’t have worn a signed 49ers helmet, but, man, Jerry Rice was, like, my icon. He’s my hero. So that was it. It’s super cool. 

Johnny Zayas is the new fill-in sub for Spanish at Western. Last year, he took on a part time job filling in for various teachers at different levels in Spanish. This year he got his first teaching job working with Spanish 3 while the main teacher, Carolyn Evans, is on maternity leave. He served in the military during the 90s and worked for Southwest Airlines. He enjoys spending time with his dogs and children. 

Q: How many years have you been teaching in the past? 

A: This is really my first year. I’ve subbed last year, but this is my first time having full classes.

Q: And why did you choose teaching? 

A: I just enjoy interacting with teenagers and telling them, like some of my life lessons, having fun, teaching them the language.

Q: What hobbies do you have?

A: I would say cooking is my main interest. I still have a senior here, so that keeps me busy. I also have three dogs at home. 

Q: What do you like to cook?

A: I cook anything I like to do with my Puerto recipes and Italian food, Mexican, a lot of Mediterranean stuff that I’ve been getting into for health reasons,  but I also bake bread.

Q: Okay, then tell me a little bit about when you’re in the Navy, and also about how you were a pilot. 

A: Well, that was in the 90s that I flew and flew in the Navy. In the Navy, we went on a couple six month deployments on aircraft carriers and then my last role was an instructor in Pensacola. So it was out of Virginia Beach Oceana, which is at the base of Virginia Beach. It was a great, great experience. Learned a lot about myself.

Q: You also have kids right?

A: Yeah, one boy and girl. Yeah, the oldest is 20. He’s a boy. He graduated out of here in ‘22, he’s a junior and in college. And then my daughter is 17, and she’s here, she’s a senior.

Elijah Morris is a first-year Algebra 2/Trig and AP Calculus teacher. He is from Charlottesville and went to Monticello High School. He went to the UVA School of Education after going to Piedmont Community College for 2 years.  Morris has always been interested in math and realized when he was in college that he could become a teacher because “None of the other [math] careers really stuck out to me.” Morris has four brothers and always helped them with their math homework. This is  Morris’ first full year being a teacher, although he was a student teacher under Sarah Terrill for half of last year. When Morris is not teaching, he enjoys rock climbing and modeling.

Q: What is your favorite type of math?

A: It’s definitely gonna be calculus. That was what I liked in high school. I just like that. We actually started doing things with the factoring or whatever strategies we learned in previous classes. And even though some of the applications aren’t, like, super applicable to everyday lives, at least you’re solving problems, right?

Q: Did you have a teacher that influenced you to start teaching?

A: I mean, I have a lot of teachers who do. I mean, even while student teaching, The teachers I worked with were still, like, motivating and influencers. So here at Western, you know, I was with Sarah Terrill, so that was pretty nice.

Q: Are you a sports fan?

A: If rock climbing is a sport, then yes, I don’t keep up too much with things like football, baseball, that kind of thing. So I guess traditionally, no, but rock climbing is now in the Olympics.

Q: How did you get into rock climbing?

A: Last year I was much heavier than I am now, and my brother was not, and he’s like, “hey, you know what would help, rock climbing”. So I was like, “Okay, if it’ll help, it’ll help”. But then it turned out I actually liked doing it.

Q: What did you want to do before you wanted to be a teacher?

A: I knew I liked math, and I wasn’t super aware of the things you could do with math. So I was just thinking, Oh, what a math major to do, and it’s like accounting and, you know, boring stuff like that. So initially I was like, I knew I wanted to do something with math, and it’s like, my default option would probably be some type of crunching numbers job. But then I actually found something fun to do. So this is what I chose to do.

Q: What kind of modeling do you do?

A: Painting modeling. You would paint models, like little miniature things that you play like: board games with, like they would come maybe all grayed out, and I want them to look, I don’t know, a different color. Oh, so you paint, I paint, okay, I paint. 

Q: If you could teach a different subject what would you teach?

A: I’m thinking if I could just do gym. Just so I can get up and move around more, that would be great. Because I never thought that I would have a job where I would be sitting, or like, stationary standing. The most that I’m doing is walking around, wandering, that sort of thing. I’d really like it if I could teach something else where I’m physically moving in a bigger room.

Margaret Marshall teaches every level of Latin as well as dual enrollment English. Since Marshall teaches all levels of Latin, she is able to teach 9th through 12th grade with additional 12th graders due to her English class. Marshall moved from Virginia Beach but actually grew up in Charlottesville and made the common transition from Henley Middle School to Western. After high school, Marshall went to UVA and joined their running club for fun.

Q: How many years have you taught prior to this?

A: 16 years.

Q: Have you always wanted to be a teacher?

A: Yes, when I was little I always wanted to be a teacher because my mom was a teacher.

Q: Did you play any sports in high school?

A: I ran cross country and track every season through 8th grade to 12th grade. I typically run long distances.

Q: What about running made you stay with it for so long (hence being the current assistant cross country coach at WAHS)?

A: The team at Western was very close knit and made practice very fun. I also fell in love with being outside and seeing beautiful scenery.

Q: So you teach English and Latin, which subject is your favorite?

A: This is a hard question, I really love discussing books with people which makes me want to say English, but in Latin I fell in love with words and teaching students a language they’ve never heard before.

Q: Are you a sports fan, if so what team or player is your favorite?

A: I really love UVA basketball,  I’ve cared less and less about the football team because it leaves you heartbroken all the time. I also was a die hard Patriots (Tom Brady) fan for 20 years, then I became a Bucs fan when Tom Brady switched and now I’m sad because I don’t have a football team to root for since Tom Brady retired. 

Q: What made you move here?

A: My whole family still lives here so it made sense to come back and be with them.

Q: What’s your favorite movie?

A: I think “Clueless,” which is a movie from the 90’s.

Q: Who is your favorite artist?

A: Taylor Swift. I have been a Taylor Swift fan since her first single and I play all of her music on the piano.

Q: Do you play any other instruments?

A: I played the trumpet in middle school band but haven’t picked it up since then. My niece, though, plays my old trumpet here at Western in a band.

Marie Leake is the P.E. teacher here at Western. She came here during 2019, but left in 2021 to pursue a Masters Degree in Arts of Teaching. Now she’s back and ready to teach a new generation of students. 

Leake always wanted to be a gym teacher, so when she got out of high school she went to Piedmont Community College for two years for an Associates of Arts Degree. She then transferred to JMU for two years to get a Bachelor’s Degree in Science. After that, Leake spent a year studying at UVA. She came to Western to teach for two years, then went back to UVA to finish getting her Master’s Degree in Arts of Teaching for 3 years. 

She’s obviously worked hard to get to where she is today, and one of her main inspirations that made her want to become a teacher was her gym instructor when she was in school. Leake had always loved P.E. when she was a child, so it made sense for her to follow a career path that she knew she would enjoy. As she put it, “If you’re going to do something every day for the rest of your life, it should be fun.” Another one of her biggest role models were her coaches for sports teams. “I was blessed to have some really incredible adults in those roles,” she says. 

Her favorite thing to teach in P.E. is golf because, “it’s not a sport a lot of people have been taught how to play, so it’s new and exciting for a lot of them,” she says. Her least favorite thing to teach is basketball, because it’s one of the more chaotic sports. Outside of teaching, she also enjoys sewing and spending time with her family.

Kristen Dennard, born and raised in Atlanta, is a social studies teacher who is currently in her second year of teaching.

Q: What made you want to teach?

A: I grew up saying I would never be a teacher, but as I got into my 20s it all changed. I wanted a career that would make a difference, and I just felt that calling.

Q: Are you a cat or dog person?

A: I am definitely a cat person. I have a cat named Lily. She is a seven year old calico, who is very sassy and loves to talk. Cats have a very special place in my heart.

Q: What is your favorite movie or series?

A: My favorite movie is “The Third Man” from 1948, directed by Orson Welles.

Q: What was your hometown?

A: I was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, but am currently living in Crozet, Virginia.

Q: What were your activities in high school?

 In high school, I participated in activities such as orchestra, the Model United team, and the swim team during the summer.

Q: What’s your favorite food?

A: My favorite food is called biryanis, its an Indian style dish.

Q: Did you consider any other jobs before teaching?

A: I was considering going to law school before being a social studies teacher. Teaching is something I’m passionate about, and I’m so happy I decided not to go to law school.

Q: What’s your favorite treat or snack?

 A: Ice cream has never been bad and is always a good treat.

Q: Have you always wanted to teach history?

A: I have always loved history and once I had figured out that I wanted to teach that’s when  I knew I wanted to teach this.

Kurt Johnson is a new history teacher at Western Albemarle High School. Some interesting facts about him are that he grew up in Plymouth, Minnesota, and went to the University of Virginia. Before teaching at Western, he was in the Peace Corps in Nepal. The principal at a school wanted someone whose native language was English to teach. After volunteering at the school, that is when he decided he wanted to get certified as a teacher. He then taught abroad in Singapore, India, and most recently Jakarta, in Indonesia. Some of his hobbies are traveling, going to concerts, cooking, watching sports (his favorite teams are the Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota Timberwolves), and bird watching. He has a daughter, a son, and a dog named Louie.

The WAHS social studies teacher has taught in international schools for over twenty years, he has taught in Indonesia for seven years, following India and Singapore. While he enjoys teaching in the States, Mr. Johnson loves to teach internationally because he learns about different cultures and experiences new environments. Mr Johnson was inspired to be a teacher while volunteering at a school in Nepal as a Peace Corps Volunteer. The Principal wanted someone who spoke English as a first language. His favorite thing about his new time here at Western is the Relationships he is making with students and teachers.

Mr. Johnson did not always want to be a social studies teacher, he revealed that he was originally a biology major at UVA and taught science for multiple years until he found his interests shifted more into current events, geography, and politics. When  asked what he would want to be doing if it wasn’t teaching, he said he would desire to work with his hands as in maybe carpentry or building his own house. The social studies teacher was not always working in the classroom, in fact, Mr. Johnsons’ first few jobs all related to the golf course, such as caddying, working the pro shop, and cleaning the driving range.