As Ripon High has grown, we have seen many teachers come and go, and one of the teachers we’ve seen arrive at Ripon High this year is Devin Denhart!

Denhart is a RHS alumni who graduated in 2017, and then went to continue her education at Cal State Monterey Bay. She is currently experiencing her first year of teaching apart from her student teaching, and substituting, which was also done at RHS. Apart from being a teacher, Denhart is also a coach. 

She doesn’t coach just one sport, she coaches two, girls soccer and volleyball! In fact, she discovered her love of teaching through her passion of coaching! She has been a coach since she graduated from Ripon High. Although coaching wasn’t her only form of inspiration, Denhart was inspired by her mother who is a professor at Stanislaus, and is following in her footsteps.

When asked about her goals as a teacher Denhart stated, “I want to create an environment that’s welcoming to all students, and just have them feel like they can always come to me no matter what’s happening. And I want to support their educational goals as well as their goals outside of the classroom.”

It’s very clear that Denhart already has a supportive mindset towards her students, but not all is easy. Motivating students is often a pivotal part in positively impacting a student’s learning; of course, Denhart has a plan for this!

“Honestly, I just try to be real with [the students] and tell them that this will help them outside of the classroom. It may not make sense now but in five years you might see the connections,” she says. 

Her favorite part of being back at RHS is her co-workers. Denhart enjoys seeing the teachers she had in high school, but now with a different dynamic; they’re her co-workers. Outside of the classroom, Denhart loves to coach and has two dogs whom she does most of her activities with. She also enjoys spending a lot of time reading!

Welcome back Ms. Denhart!