Cyndi Loza

A fresh batch of teachers joined Wooster High School this fall.

Tim Woodside, Jonathan Phillips, Casey Baker and Jonathan Zittel joined the school at 1331 E. Plumb Lane in August.

All four said they’ve enjoyed working with Wooster’s students and faculty, but varied in their reasons for becoming teachers.

“I wanted my job to mean something,” said Phillips, 27, a music teacher at the school.

History teacher Baker, 23, agreed with Phillips, adding that he had inspirational teachers in high school that helped encourage a career in education.

“I wanted to be that teacher that I had,” Baker said.

The teachers all agreed that the faculty has been great to work with since their first meeting with them.

“They were very welcoming when I had my interview,” history teacher Zittel said.

Math teacher Woodside, 26, said he first began working with the school coaching its junior varsity baseball team last year.

When he was offered a position as a Wooster math teacher, he was given the opportunity to teach a higher level trigonometry class.

“I didn’t have a reason to say no,” Woodside said.

Working with a wide range of Wooster students just sweetened the deal for Phillips.

“The kids at this school are awesome,” Phillips said. “They’re really diverse, and you work with a wide range of life experiences.”

Woodside said he approaches his math lessons with a sense of humor.

“I’d like to make the kids laugh because math you usually don’t laugh in,” Woodside said.

At a glance

Casey Baker

• Title: World and U.S. history teacher
• Age: 23
• Born: Truckee
• Resides: Reno
• Education: Bachelor’s in education, social studies

Jonathan Phillips

• Title: Music teacher
• Age: 27
• Born: San Jose, Calif.
• Education: Bachelor’s in music education from the University of Nevada, Reno

Tim Woodside

• Title: Math teacher
• Age: 26
• Born: Bakersfield, Calif.
• Resides: Reno
• Education: Carson High School graduate; bachelor’s in math education from the University of Nevada, Reno

Jonathan Zittel

• Title: World history and International Baccalaureate history of the Americas II teacher
• Born: Sheboygan, Wis.
• Resides: Reno
• Education: Bachelor’s in political science from University of Wisconsin, Madison; master’s in education, social studies, at University of Minnesota, Twin Cities