A graduate of Alder, Brayden Blain has returned as an official staff member in his old stomping ground, coming back to teach what he did last year.

Q: What’s it like working where you graduated?

A: So initially last year when I first became the substitute teacher, I was a little nervous, right? Stepping in back into my alma mater. I wasn’t the ideal student when I graduated from here, but coming back honestly I’m just truthfully grateful for every opportunity. Every teacher that I’ve had has accepted me with open arms. They’re willing to help me work with me. They want me to succeed, right? Initially, like I said, I was a little nervous. I didn’t leave the best pass, but everyone hopefully let that go and now accepts me as an employee.

Q: Was working here always your goal?

A: One of my goals that I’d like to as an educator, my entire philosophy, teaching philosophy, is honestly to be remembered in a positive way. As a positive role model, positive reinforcement, someone that the students can look back on and realize that certain individuals like myself, he helped me. He helped me guide me through life, any mental health issues, just sort of a positive role model for our students.

Q: What’s your teaching philosophy?

A: My teaching philosophy is understanding the X’s and O’s past the content. How is this going to help me in life? My whole teaching philosophy, the whole reason I do this, is to prepare all my students for the next level. When I graduated from here, I almost felt a little uncertainty. I felt a little clueless. My path wasn’t clear. My whole philosophy, the whole reason I do this, is for students to be confident in their next step. The next step is always scary. Change is scary.

I just want students to know that change is a good thing. I want students to leave this place with confidence on what they want to do for the rest of their life and just be a model citizen.

Q: Was working here always your goal?

A: Yeah, so not initially. Right when I graduated college, there was a lot of uncertainty, but if the opportunity were to arise earlier, I most definitely would have taken it. But initially, my plan wasn’t to solely just come back to Jonathan Alder. It just kind of worked out in my favor and I’m just happy to be here.

Q: During your tenure at JA what clubs/extracurriculars were you in?

A: When I was a student here at Jonathan Alder, I was on the football team. I also did a little track. That’s about it.

Q: What ones would’ve you liked to be in?

A: Yes. I am personally trying to revive our eSports program. I am a video game player.

I love playing competitively. I love the whole atmosphere. I wish we could set something up with Tolles where we can get gaming PCs and be able to revive that club.

If that club was available when I was a student, I would most definitely have joined.

Q: Outside of school, what do you like to do for fun?

A: Like I said, I do play some video games, but for my outside activities, I like to golf. Golf’s kind of my big thing. I’m getting really big into reading historical books. Currently reading “Napoleon,” the life of Napoleon, and that’s been my whole attention outside of school right now. I’m a very nonchalant person.

Q: What’s your favorite video game?

A: My favorite video game, and it is not even close, it is “Marvel Rivals.”

Q: What’s something freshmen (or students in general) should know about you? 

A: About me, I want students to be comfortable enough to talk to me. I want them to understand that I’m also a human being. We both have human being emotions, and yes, keep the student-teacher relationship obviously professional, but I want students to be able to come in comfortable, be themselves, be able to talk to me without getting stressed, have someone to rely on, just another shoulder for someone to talk to.

Justin Creps was the engineering teacher at only the junior high and this year he teaches at both the high school and junior high.  He also coaches cross country.

Q: Why did you move from the Junior High to the High School?

A: Based on enrollment numbers, Tolles and JA came to the agreement that it would be best to have just one engineering teacher at Jonathan Alder.  However, both the junior high and high school wanted their students to have access to engineering.  So now I spend my mornings teaching at the junior high and my afternoons at the high school.

Q: Why did you choose to teach engineering?

A: I actually was interested and educated in engineering long before I ever had any intention of becoming a teacher. While working towards my engineering Master’s degree, I served as a graduate teaching associate and taught undergraduate labs. It was actually through this experience that I learned I enjoyed teaching and made a professional connection which eventually led me to Tolles.

Q: What classes do you teach here?

A: Currently, the only engineering class offered at JAHS is food engineering. Upper classmen may remember the Robotics and Design engineering classes that used to be offered, but with only two sessions available in my schedule at JAHS, it was decided to move forward with the class that was most requested during scheduling last year, and that was food engineering. I still teach the 7th & 8th grade pre-engineering classes back at JAJHS.

Q:  How long have you been teaching?

A: This is my twelfth year teaching as a full-time teacher. All 12 have been as a Tolles satellite teacher at Jonathan Alder.

Q: Why did you choose Tolles/Alder?

A: It’s a bit of a long story. I had actually never heard of Jonathan Alder, or even Plain City, when I applied for the job. The connection I mentioned earlier, who was my supervisor at Ohio State, was leaving Ohio State to become Dublin’s head of STEAM curriculum at the same time I was graduating with my Master’s from Ohio State. She talked me into applying at Tolles–I think she thought they’d place me in Dublin–but instead they placed me at Jonathan Alder. I fell in love with the district and have been here ever since.

Q:  Why do you coach cross country?

A: I’ve always loved running and coaching. I actually didn’t run cross country in high school–I was a soccer kid–but I did run track. In my first year teaching, I volunteered with the junior high track team. I must have left a good impression, because a few months later they asked me to apply to be the head cross country coach. Things have gone pretty well since then.

Q: What steps did you take to become an engineer?

A: Well, growing up I always thought I wanted to be an architect. At my old high school, they had a lot of different electives offered, and a lot of room in our schedule to take them. I wanted to take an architectural drafting class, but in order to take that class, you had to take a mechanical drawing class as a prerequisite. I ended up liking the mechanical drawing class better than the architectural drawing class! I enjoyed the design aspect of architecture more than all the aesthetics of it. So then I joined my school’s engineering club and that sort of sealed the deal for me. I went to Ohio State to study mechanical engineering. Upon completion of my undergrad, I decided I wanted to specialize in biomechanics and joined the movement analysis and performance lab at Ohio State to work on my thesis.

Q: What kind of engineer are you and why?

A: Both my degrees, and the majority of my coursework, were in mechanical engineering, but I specialized in biomechanics, so I took a lot of biomedical classes and did a lot of those kinds of projects, especially in grad school. One of the reasons I liked–and ultimately chose–Ohio State was that they believed in training their engineers with at least a background knowledge in a variety of areas. So I took classes in electrical engineering, industrial systems engineering, computer science engineering, material science engineering, and several others!

Brett Glass taught at Alder from 2012 to 2020 before moving to Dublin for a few years. Now, he’s back, both teaching and coaching football.

Q: How long have you been a teacher?

A: I’ve been a teacher since 2010, so like 16 years, 17 years. I did some subbing before that, but I’ve been a teacher for like 16 years.

Q: What district did you start at?

A: I subbed here, then got a job at a charter school for two years, 2010 through 2012, then came here, taught until 2020, then went to Dublin, and then came back.

Q: What subjects have you taught?

A: Tech and innovation right now, but before when I was here, I was a science teacher: I taught anatomy; I taught zoology; I taught bio; I taught environmental science; I taught forensics; I taught the project lead the way that Ms. Calland teaches now. I did a lot of different stuff over my eight years when I was here.

Q: What made you want to come back to Alder?

A: The opportunity arose. You know, I wanted to do something different. I left to go to Dublin because, you know, I’d always been a JA…I went here, I coached here, taught here forever, and it was an opportunity to do something different. But then when this opportunity, the coaching position opened back up…we still live in the community, we never moved to Dublin or anything like that, we live in town, and it was really a really good opportunity to get back here to where, you know, my kids are going to go to school and all those types of things, and…I love this place, and it was a really easy decision to try to come back.

Q: How long have you been a coach?

A: Since 2008, so…my 11th year as a head coach, 17th year overall.

Q: What made you want to become a coach?

A: My high school coaches. When I was in college, I played football at Otterbein. I would come back and help out a little bit during the summers when I was home…I was pre-med to start with; I was going to go to med school and do all that, but after helping out in the summers and stuff, my high school coach told me that I seemed passionate about coaching and…that I should really think about education and coaching.

John Glatz is the new French teacher at the high school, returning from his retirement. He left JAHS in 2022, and has returned to fill the position previously held by Kendal Smith. He graduated from Bowling Green State University, and fell in love with Alder as soon as he started teaching here.

Q: What subjects do you teach here at Alder?

A: “I teach French this year.”

Q: What influenced you to start teaching French?

A: “When I was in high school, I did really well in English and in French, so French was probably my stronger seat. So I already knew in high school I was going to be a teacher…I taught English 10 when I first started here at Alder, and I introduced the French program. So the first year I had French 1, the second year I had French 1 and 2, the third year I had French 1, 2 and 3, but I was always teaching English at the same time. And then soon my numbers were so big that I just taught exclusively French.”

Q: How long have you been teaching?

A: “A long time. I’ll tell you, I taught for Alder before I retired for 36 years here and then I retired in 2022. The first year I subbed for the French Immersion School in Columbus. It’s called Ecole Kenwood. I subbed there and then I got a part-time job because I just found myself going crazy doing nothing while being retired. So, I got a part-time job working from home for a doctor. I worked from my office from like 8 in the morning until like noon…Then my job was ending because they automated it, that same week I got a text from Mrs. Puckett asking, ‘Mr. Hayes wants to know if you would consider coming back.’ And I’m like, are you serious? So I thought that was maybe God’s way of closing a door and opening a window or whatever. So I decided to come back. I’m going to be here for a year, maybe two. After that, I’m old. So it’s just a brief in and out.”

Q: How was your retirement?

A: “Well, I mean, it’s a big life change. It really is. I did all the jobs I could do around the house, then it was really odd because you realize that your job is really a big piece of you, like what you do every day. And when that’s not there anymore, you have to ask yourself, who are you? So it was interesting.”

Q:Were there any other influences to come back to Alder other than missing your job?

A: “Well, Mr. Hayes wanted to say, I know you want your French program to go on. And of course, I know everybody here, except for if they’re new. But I’ve been here for so long, so everybody was happy that I came back. Everybody knows me. But the thing everybody asked was like, why are you coming back? And I really do enjoy teaching or else I wouldn’t be here.”

Q: Are you excited to be back?

A: “Yes and no. Because it’s hard getting up at 5:30 in the morning when I used to get up at seven in the morning. So that’s a big difference. And fighting all the traffic and everything, that’s something to get used to.” 

Q: Do you have any other hobbies you like to do outside of school?

A: “I like to travel. I like to read, watch, watch movies, that kind of thing.”

Q: What’s your favorite kind of movie? 

A: “I watch French movies. French movies are very different from American movies. They’re more realistic, like life experience. Sometimes our movies have a really happy ending. But these movies are just like a slice of life kind of thing, they’re different. But I don’t just watch French movies. I like maybe some horror movies. I like some series. I just got done watching the Dexter series, ‘The Resurrection.’ So I’ve watched all his other series.”

Editor’s note: A previous version of this interview incorrectly named Ecole Kenwood Cole Kenwood. Ecole Kenwood is the correct name of the school. 

Bryan Knurek, husband of career explorations teacher Holly Knurek, is a new teacher in the building. He came from Ohio High Point in Bellefontaine and has been teaching for over 20 years.

Q: How many years have you been teaching in general?

A: This is my 21st year of teaching.

Q: Why did you come and teach at Alder?

A: Gosh, that’s a long story. So, I was teaching in another school district with an administrator that I had worked with in yet another school district. So I followed him from one to the other, and he was leaving to come to Alder. And so I interviewed a couple years ago because I really wanted to be part of the community. We live close, my wife and I, we live 12 miles away. And so I’d always wanted to be part of the community if possible. And when I had the opportunity, I took it. So I interviewed a couple years ago and it didn’t quite work out. But that just kind of kept me interested. And when this opportunity came up at the beginning of the summer, I jumped on it.

Q: What school did you come from?

A: So most recently I was teaching at Ohio High Point, which is in Bellefontaine. It’s like Tolles, but it’s Tolles for Marysville, West Liberty, there is 14 school districts that feed into High Point  Career Technical Center.

Q: Is that a big school? 

A: We had 780 kids there last year, and there’s supposed to be 820 this year.

Q: How was the transition going from that school to Alder?

A: Very different. The transition was very comfortable because I taught at a traditional public high school at the start of my career; I taught at Benjamin Logan for 16 years. So in a lot of ways, Logan and Johnathan Alder are very similar in how they view education and the students’ needs, and how we’re going to represent the students. So that was comfortable and familiar. But the transition from Career Tech back to public high school was very different. 

Q: What classes do you teach here at Alder?

A: I teach Honors English 10, Film Studies, and AP Language and Composition. 

Q: Have you taught those classes before?

A: I’ve taught everything but AP Language and Composition before. 

Q: What all classes have you taught while being a teacher?

A: So I’ve taught English at the 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade level. At all those levels, I taught Honors, Non-Honors, and inclusion at all those levels. I created a film studies class at Ben Logan, so that’s why I was familiar with this one. And Public Speaking. I’ve taught Public Speaking for a handful of years as well. 

Q: What has been your favorite subject or class to teach throughout your teaching years?

A: Gosh. I don’t know if I could isolate one because there’s so much in Language Arts that is similar across the board. So I’d probably say I would modify that question to answer and say,  I love to see how students react to difficult questions. And so whether that’s an essay prompt or a question in class or something we’ve watched, something they’ve read, I love to see and hear what their reactions are, and that’s what interests me.

Q:  far, what is your favorite thing about Alder? 

A: The community. And the community mindset that goes from student all the way up to the top. 

Q: Have you always wanted to be a teacher, or what made you want to become a teacher?

A: When I was in high school, I never saw myself as a teacher. I saw myself more as a counselor or maybe even a social worker. And when I went to college, my parents suggested teaching. And so I tried it. I thought I’ll try it for a year and change my major. So I tried teaching for a year. And I got put in a classroom my second day of college. And so I got to observe. That was how my university did what they did. And fell in love with it. I knew that I wanted to teach. And so that was it. And there were about six or seven, eight very influential teachers in my life.

Q: Did you go to college for four years?

A: I went to Mount Vernon-Nazarene University. Actually four, and then I had to come back for my student teaching. So you could say four and a half. But graduation credits as of the year 2000. 

Q: What’s it like working in the same building as Mrs. Knurek?

A: Oh, my gosh. Working in the same building as Mrs. Knurek. Keep in mind that for the last 20 years we’ve been an hour apart because I’ve driven 30 minutes North and she’s coming down this way. It is very interesting, especially to have students who had her last year and to hear her influence on them. And then to hear them reflect on some of the stories she’s told about me in class. But I would say that this time in our life it is very comforting for us to be in the same building together. She’s a pretty awesome human.

Q: Do you have any hobbies or anything you do outside of teaching?

A: I do quite a bit. Music is a big part of my life. I made it through college on a vocal scholarship, so I still like to sing, even though I’m not nearly as able as I used to be.  Singing, I do a lot of volunteer service at our church. I’m a member of our church, and that’s a big part of what we do. I enjoy hiking. I like being outside. I don’t get outside as much as I’d like to. Hiking and fishing. Our youngest is a cheerleader, so I’m a cheer dad, so I sit at a lot of football games and basketball games. 

Q: What church do you go to?

A: We attend the Well Church of the Nazarene in Marysville.

Q: Do you have any other interests?

A: Just nerdy stuff. I love LEGOs. I mess with LEGOs a lot. Yeah, I mean, really we’re busy on the weekends with church things and with our daughter as a sophomore, so that kind of takes up the majority of time.

Q: What’s something you think our readers of The Pioneer Press should know about you, or just anything else you want to add?

A: Even though I’m coming to Jonathan Alder with a lot of years behind me, I really am looking forward to making this my last move. I would love for this to be the place that I finish my career at. I’ve got several years left. To be a part of the community, to become ingrained, to be someone that the community can look to and trust inside the classroom and outside the classroom. 

Troy Smith is a new teacher here at Jonathan Alder, but this is not his first year teaching. At Alder, Smith is an intervention specialist and he teaches 9th through 12th grades.

Q: How long have you been teaching?

A: This will be my 23rd year of teaching.

Q: What do you teach here at Alder?

A: I’m an intervention specialist that works in the English department.

Q: Where did you teach before Alder?

A: I started out my career at Taeys Valley, where I had graduated from. I then went to Chillicothe, where I became the head wrestling coach and taught there for a while. Then, when I met my wife, I moved up to Columbus, and I ended up teaching in Columbus City Schools for 10 years, and now I am here.”

Q: Why did you come to Alder?

A: Alder reminds me of my high school when I was growing up, and so it kind of makes me feel like a home, and I really like that feeling that I had, and I’ve really enjoyed the people I’ve met here.

Q: Why did you start teaching?

A: I was a student who had to always find that other way of learning how to do things, so I thought it would be a great idea for me to become a teacher and work with kids and help them see those other ways of learning things. I also was heavily influenced by my father, who was a teacher, then an administrator, and then eventually a superintendent, and now I have a whole family in education.

Q: What did you teach before you came to Alder?

A:  I’ve taught pretty much everything kindergarten through 12th grade; I’ve taught math, science, social studies, English, and when you’re teaching elementary, you teach all subjects. So I’ve done a little bit of everything.

Q: What do you think of the students/staff here at Alder?

A: I think it’s phenomenal. The way that the students are reactive to the teachers, how they are willing to work with you, and they’ll ask questions once they get comfortable with you. Everybody sits down and knows what their job is here, and…with a little coercing sometimes…everybody’s willing to work towards their education, and that’s great compared to what I’ve had in the past.

Q: Are you enjoying your first year at Alder?

A:  Yes, immensely. I’ve told multiple teachers I’m in culture shock because you guys don’t realize what a gem you guys have here at Jonathan Alder.

Q: What grade(s) do you teach?

A: Currently I’m teaching really 9th through 12th, but specifically in my classes are the freshmen and the juniors.

Q: What’s something you’d like or want students to know about you or your teaching style?

A: I like to get to know the students personally. I like to get to know them so that I can better connect with them. I’m here, willing to help anybody who needs help, doesn’t matter who you are. I will try to go out of my way if I need to to help somebody, and I’ve coached and taught for multiple years, so coaching is also something I would like to start getting into slowly as my little ones get older.

Arica Stimpson is starting her first year working here at the high school, after being at the junior high last year. 

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

A: In my free time I like to read. I like to serve at my youth group at my church, and I like to explore new coffee shops with my fiance.

Q: Do you have any bucketlist items or things you would like to achieve?

A: I want to go sky diving really bad.

Q: How long have you been working in the Alder district?

A: This is my second year.

Q: What’s your role here working at the high school?

A: I am the intervention specialist.

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

A: Probably just doing life with my kids. It’s really fun.

Q: What made you want to pursue this career?

A: I had a kid in my neighborhood growing up who had special needs, and I loved playing with him and things, and I was super comfortable with special needs, and then now I just, it’s my job.

Q: Is there any certain impact you hope to leave at the school?

A: I want to be a safe space for anyone to come, even if I don’t have you in my class. My door’s are always open!