eFrom putting together the prep books for all calculus students to attending every one of Westview’s Proms since the school’s opening in 2002, Stephanie Vanderby has been an integral part of Westview’s community. But, that time is coming to an end. After teaching for over 30 years, Vanderby is now retiring.
While teaching multiple classes of AP Calculus every school year, Vanderby has aided with things such as providing additional help to students before and after school, ordering the supplies for the math department, keeping track of the calculators in the library, and organizing the providing of the pizza for the AP mock exams.
Although her time as a teacher has been rewarding, she said her desire to spend more time with her husband led her to decide to step away from teaching at Westview.
“It’s time,” she said. “I’ve been teaching now for a little over 30 years. My husband’s already retired, so it just felt like a good time to retire.”
Over the years, Vanderby has created valuable connections, one being Math teacher Bruce Hubschmitt. He complements Vanderby’s organized and adaptable teaching style.
“Mrs. Vanderby has always been open-minded and willing to adapt her style,” he said. “When she first was needed on the Calculus team, I and the other Calculus teacher at the time asked if she was willing to adjust what she’d always done, and she didn’t even blink. She’s always been flexible and supportive every second.”
Izi Rodriguez (12) said Vanderby’s flexible teaching style helped her when she was in AP Calculus AB.
“The class that I was in when I had Mrs. Vanderby was relatively quiet and not many people felt comfortable asking questions about the homework,” she said. “Mrs. Vanderby realized this and instead gave us the option to write all the homework questions we wanted her to go over on the whiteboard, and throughout the period she would answer each question while we followed along.”
In Macey Naritomi’s (12) case, Vanderby was a supportive figure while she was going through a hard time.
“There was this time when I was dealing with some family stuff so I missed a lot of class,” she said. “So, when I went to talk to her, I ended up crying and she totally comforted me, gave me tissues, and told me I’d be able to make the work up later. She gave me so much time to catch up on everything and she was genuinely my most supportive teacher during that time.”
Outside of the classroom, Hubschmitt said that Vanderby has been compassionate in many ways and will be missed as more than just a teacher.
“Mrs. Vanderby was at my wedding, and she made the baby quilts for my twins when they were born 18 years ago,” he said. “I’m fairly certain she’s cut a birthday cake and handed it out every year for all four of my children. She altered my daughter’s Prom dress her senior year. She occasionally makes me crazy in ways only friends who you love most dearly can.”
From teaching students at Westview since 2002, Vanderby said that she will miss many things. But by substitute teaching, she will still be around.
“There are a lot of things I will miss, like the interaction with the students,” she said. “I will miss a lot of the people here and the regular routine of everything. But I will go on the substitute teacher list, so I’ll probably still be around here and there. That way, it helps out the department too, because it’s very hard for them to find subs who can teach some of the higher level math classes.”
Looking to the future, Hubschmitt is optimistic that the math department will remain stable. However, with losing such an important role model, she will be thoroughly missed.
“Our department is a strong one, and we will continue to be successful, but I imagine we’ll hear echoes of [Vanderby] sending out copies of the learning schedule, reminding us about graphing calculators, calculus prep books, and ordering pizza for our mock exams throughout the year,” he said. “She’s more than a colleague who I’ll miss at Westview. She’s a friend who I will see less frequently, and that is always hard, regardless of my happiness for her to enter this new phase of life with her husband.”
