The New Recruits of the Math Department

By Katelyn Weddle

For the school year of 2020 to 2021, Redwood staff welcomed five new teachers to the Ranger family. Three of them being math teachers, Bill Phelps, Rodrigo Miguel, and Sergio Dussan. 

Bill Phelps is on his 26th year of teaching. He has taught ten years at Royal Oaks Elementary, 5 years in 2nd grade and 5 years in 6th grade, and fifteen years at Green Acres Middle School, teaching both 7th and 8th grade. Phelps would like to teach higher levels of math for four or five years to finish out his career before retiring. 

Phelps got into teaching after helping his wife, a teacher, in her classroom and working with students. Within a few years, he quit his job and went back to school to get his teaching credential. Phelps currently teaches Math 1 with freshmen and a few upperclassmen.

During his career, Phelps had a memorable teaching experience with a student from Mexico. The 7th-grade student spoke no English, so the first few weeks were very difficult. The student made great progress, and the next year he was placed in Phelps class for 8th grade. He was always coming in for extra help, even when he was proficient in math. The student also helped Phelps tutor other kids in the morning and ended up having one of the highest GPAs in Math. 

Phelps says, “I am still amazed by the growth he was able to make in such a short period of time, which proves that you can do anything if you are willing to work hard, get involved, and do the right thing.”

Rodrigo Miguel has been teaching for eight years. He has taught Math 1, Math 2, Math 3, and Middle School Math. Miguel got into teaching because he loves math, and he finds it rewarding to help others. 

Miguel came to Redwood, as he was a native to the area. He grew up in Madera and attended college at Fresno State. He currently lives in Visalia because he thinks it is a nice town to raise a family. 

One of Miguel’s most memorable moments was being his younger brother’s teachers. He says, “I had both of them in one of my classes. Of course, I treated them like everybody else, and obviously, they tried to do their best in class as well.” 

The final new math teacher is Sergio Dussan. He has taught for thirteen years, ten of which teaching high school math.  Dussan started as an ELL/Spanish for Native Speakers teacher in Oregon, then he transitioned into math. He has taught Math 1, Math 3, Precalculus/Trigonometry, Financial Math, AVID, and one semester of AP stats. Currently, Dussan is teaching Integrated Math 2. 

Dussan began teaching because he enjoys helping people be the best they can be.  The reason for him coming to Redwood was because he was given the opportunity also because it is close to home. 

One year, Dussan had a student who was having a hard time in math come up with an explanation for a theorem all on his own. Dussan says, “I am often amazed by what students are able to do on their own when the teacher steps back and lets them try to figure things out.”

Tags: Math, new teachers, Redwood, redwood teachers