New Teachers in the New Year

Ms. Dudley grew up in Rockbridge County, Virginia. She is a Chemistry and Animal Studies teacher at WAHS in her first year of teaching.   She was a student-teacher during the 2021-2022 academic year at WAHS, so she is not completely new to the school. She received her undergraduate degree from Randolph-Macon College where she played lacrosse, and received her Masters in Teaching from UVA.  ...

Mr. Reinhard is the new art teacher at Western Albemarle. He grew up near Roanoke, Virginia, and went to University of Virginia. Reinhard has lived out of state as well in DC, and Savannah, Georgia. Although this is his first year teaching Advanced Placement Art, he has taught many other classes in that same field. He has taught at many different schools over the years, but he says that in Western, â€...

Introducing Ms. Vincent, a new teacher here at WAHS! Ms. Vincent teaches biology and AP Environmental Science, and she is located in B107. This is her first year teaching highschool, after teaching college classes for several years.  Q. Where are you from? A. I grew up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. I could just as well say that I grew up on the University of Alabama’s campus. My father was a tea...

Ms. Salinas is a new Spanish teacher at Western. She is from Ohio and graduated from UVA with a Ph.D. in Spanish language and literature. Before working at Western, she taught Spanish 1, she now teaches Spanish 2 and 3 in pod 3.     Q: What got you into teaching?  A: I went to grad school and when I was in grad school I also worked as a teaching assistant and I got to teach my own classes at UVA and I really...

This year, WAHS welcomed Ashley Rasmussen to the WAHS counseling office as a registrar and data administrator. She has previously done similar work in other schools, and even in a U.S. military base elementary school located in Germany. She is responsible for introducing new students to the Western system and organizing the papers graduates need for their futures.  Q: So what exactly do you do here at Western? ...

Mr. Johnsen is a new staff member here at Western who teaches study skills and Algebra 1. In his free time he is very passionate about music, and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Johnson loves spending valuable time with his students, and believes in keeping alive the inner child in all of us.    Q: What led you to this profession?   A: I've always said, I like teaching, I like young people, an...

 Mr. Asquith is one of our several new teachers to Western Albemarle. His classroom is on the first floor of the B-wing and he teaches biology and AP biology. Q: What made you decide to teach biology? A:  Ever since I was a kid, I loved exploring nature and discovering plants or animals.  I love to learn things and pass them on.   Is this your first year of teaching or have yo...

 Mr. Richmond is a new teacher here at WAHS. He was born in Charlottesville and attended WAHS before going to UVA, Dartmouth, and Columbia University to pursue law. While he was becoming a lawyer he worked partially as a teacher and ultimately decided to pursue teaching full-time. Mr. Richmond enjoys gardening and playing with his kids. He teaches twelfth grade government and ninth grade world history.Â...

Meet Conner Peters, a social studies teacher here at WAHS. Mr. Peters started his career as a Civics and Economics teacher at Buford Middle School last year. He grew up in Amherst County, what he calls a “Friday Night Lights Town '' and lived in Los Angeles for a change of pace. In addition, he wanted to have a chance to experience something different. He had lived in VA his whole life and wanted...