Sarah Pfeifer

We were curious as to why Pfeifer joined the EHS community, so we asked her.

Pfeifer explained “I live in Erie, and I wanted to coach basketball and their [Erie’s] basketball position was open. And they also had a math position open, so it worked great.”
Pfeifer loves how the students she teaches at Erie High School are respectful, and how academically determined they are.
Pfiefer previously coached basketball at the University of Washington in Seattle, and traveled within Arkansas to four different schools, while teaching math and coaching.
Pfeifer enjoys the small town feel, seeing familiar faces in the area and teaching in a community she loves. Pfeifer compared Erie to her hometown, explaining “It has that same feel and same culture, people wanting to be here, people involved, things like that.”
Pfefier graduated college with a undergraduate degree in industrial engineering and a master’s degree in education; specifically sport management. Pfefier was always intrigued by both, but wanted to coach for schools.
As Pfeifer embraces the mid-semester activity, and answers her student’s math questions, she feels the joy of the students interacting with her and each other, “I like the students, the interaction with the students. I like the feeling of when somebody finally gets something that is difficult, that is my favorite part of about teaching math. For most kids, it does not come easy, so that learning how to persevere and learning to keep trying until you figure it out, I feel that is one of life’s biggest lessons and I feel like math can be a good teacher of that,” explains Pfefier.
Speaking of teaching, Pfeifer tries to be open minded. When she teaches a particularly difficult algebra concept, she exposes the students to different techniques to solve the problem. That way, the individual can adjust to what he or she finds most productive.
When Pfeifer was teaching on the first day of school, we were interested in what type of person she is. Now that we know, Erie High School welcomes Pfeifer with open arms, and looks forward to a great year with her.

Jacob Rupp

Jacob Rupp is the sophisticated english teacher you may have this year.
We wanted to find out how he became a part of the Erie High School community, so we asked him.
When visiting an event at Erie High School, Rupp was amazed at the progress the school has made. The following day, he saw an opening for a english teacher position and applied. His application was accepted, and the following week, Rupp was a part of the EHS teaching staff. Rupp was very excited by this new chapter of his life since his two children are enrolled in the St. Vrain Valley school district. Rupp expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to teach in the St. Vrain Valley school district, commenting,“Both my kids go to St. Vrain schools because I live in Longmont, and so I wanted to have the same schedule as them so I can pick them up from school. So now my kids and I have the same schedule, which is pretty nice.”
Rupp formerly taught at Valley High School, and has noticed some differences between Valley High School and Erie. Rupp observes that the students at Erie are very well behaved and respectful.
Rupp taught in Arizona for five years, before transferring to a highly advanced school district which enrolled three to four thousand students per school in the district. Rupp taught at two schools in that district, before moving to Colorado, where he taught middle school english in Greeley.
Once Rupp came to Erie High School, he had to adjust to the block schedule, since the schools at which he previously taught did not have block schedule. Rupp commented “Not having the same schedule every day is like a little unnerving. I’m used to seeing all of my students every single day, now I only see half of my students every day. But I would say the quality of my life has improved tremendously.”
When Rupp looks back at his academic achievements, he considers his bachelor’s degree secondary English education from Arizona State University, and a master’s lettering degree in English from University of Colorado, Denver.
Coming back from his thoughts and focusing on his job as a teacher, Rupp appreciates the opportunity to educate America’s future generation. “It’s fun. I think high school kids are absolutely the most funny, entertaining group of people. So I enjoy coming to work. I do not ever dread coming to work because I know I’m not going to be really running into problems, like behavior,” explain Rupp.
When we met Rupp for the first time, we wondered what what in store for this year. Now that we know who he is, Erie High School is ready to open a new chapter for this fellow teacher.