Dave Wright’s success as a math teacher speaks for itself, though his colleagues and his students are more than happy to attest to his skill as a teacher, and that’s if the numbers aren’t impressive enough.
His success has translated into being named the Siemens Foundation’s Washington state AP (advanced placement) Math-Science Teacher of the Year.
Wright, who has taught at Tahoma High for four years after coming from Kentridge, has worked with 694 students in 11 years of teaching AP calculus. All but two of them took the exam in that subject and 426 of them earned a 5 on the test, the highest score a student can receive, which accounts for 62 percent of his students.
Wright said the average is around 20 percent.
His former students attribute their success on the exam to Wright’s expectations in class and the rigorous preparation they go through leading up to the test.
Senior Robin Hanson, who said she hated math prior to taking Wright’s class, explained “in preparation for the test he beats you for five weeks. We have these giant packets we have to do. I learned so much in those five weeks. It works.”
One of the steps she learned from Wright, who has been invited to score the AP test for the College Board, was to write down steps in the free response because even if you didn’t get the answer you would still get points.
“He knows what to look for and how to approach doing the review,” said Hannah Oosterhout. “Taking all the tests, for me, helped with time management. By the time we got to the test we were able to go through at a good pace and get everything done.”
Savannah Marstall, a senior, said that after taking the test last year “people who had other teachers say they had no idea what to do” in certain portions of the test.
“I did feel confident because after five weeks of review you start to see patterns,” Marstall said.
Jon Palazzo, a senior, said, “The most effective thing for me was that he was engaging. The review that he does helps you phenomenally with the AP test because when you sit down to take it, you’ve taken the same test over and over.”
Senior David Mahoney was in Wright’s class last year.
“There’s a huge difference between a teacher who just teaches and a teacher who teaches material they obviously love and are passionate about,” Mahoney said. “Because he expects so much out of his students, we can give it to him. Other teachers don’t expect as much and they’re wrong. We can rise to that potential.”
Mahoney added that Wright goes beyond rote memorization and regurgitation of material, but, instead helps students understand the why and how of the concepts as well as giving them tools to help them manage the kind of test anxiety an AP exam can inspire.
For example, the “bell moments,” which is when Wright would ring his bell while teaching a critical concept to help the students make the connection.
“We practice things so in depth that we can’t forget them,” Mahoney said. “That takes away all those factors because we know the material.”
Current students who will tackle the test in early May don’t quite know what they’re getting into with the AP calculus exam but they are pretty sure they’ll be ready.
“He likes to use puns a lot and analogies,” said senior Laura Pflug. “When he does grade our tests, he grades it like they do when they grade the AP tests.”
Thomas Rothschilds, a junior, said, “if you honestly don’t understand something, he’ll show you every step to help you get there.”
Wright also “always makes sure you’re paying attention so you don’t miss important information,” according to senior Ryan Ota.
“He gives us really, really hard tests that are harder than the AP test so that when we take the AP test it will be a lot easier,”junior John Larsen said. “He also goes at a very rigorous fast pace so he can spend more time reviewing with us. He explains things better than any math teacher I’ve ever had.”
Lexi Porte, who is taking other AP courses this year, said she feels “confident that I’m actually going to do well on the exam.”
“One of the things that’s really kind of cool about this class is that it was kind of intimidating the first couple of days,” senior Megan Moorehead said. “But, now there’s a light aura and it’s not stressful. If you’re challenged and you have a question, you won’t be afraid to ask.”
Chad Burgess, a senior, said, “Mr. Wright is top notch. He’s a machine.”
“He’s the best math teacher I’ve ever had,” Tucker Murray said.
Mollie Picha explained that you can come into his class before or after school if you’re having trouble and “lots of people just come in every day even if they finish their homework because everybody loves math.”
And even though the class is challenging, Emily Duerson, a junior, said that Wright’s approach keeps it interesting.
“He laughs at all of his own jokes and they’re all about math,” Duerson said. “They’re actually very funny.”
Wright’s students aren’t the only ones who respect his methods and results.
“What a well-deserved accolade for an outstanding teacher,” said Brooke Dillon, who oversees AP courses at Tahoma High. “Dave Wright is a wizard at empowering and inspiring students to strive for heights seemingly beyond their grasp and then helping them to attain that previously unimagined level of skill, knowledge, and confidence. Dave is a significant factor in the exponential growth and success of our AP program here at Tahoma, helping us to grow tenfold in our number of AP students over the last eleven years.”
Tahoma principal Terry Duty approached Wright last fall to apply for the award because he thinks so highly of Wright.
In his letter of reference in support of Wright’s application, Duty wrote, “Unfailingly, he is able to bring out the very best in others. Adults and students alike find Dave cooperative, hard working, highly organized, resourceful and totally dedicated to the growth and development of our students and our programs.”
Wright probably would not have sought out the award had Duty not encouraged him and he said that there are a number of other teachers at Tahoma High who could’ve won this honor or something similar.
“I was honored because he respects me enough to want me to do this,” Wright said. “It’s really cool when your administrator respects you enough to apply for a national award. I like the fact that you can sit six of my former students down and they say that I make math fun and they learned from me. I also like when they go to college and they come back and tell me they’re better than their peers. It’s not just about being successful on a test once, being done and forgetting about it. If they don’t take any more math they still have the skills to be successful in any class.”
