One thing you see a ton of around the halls at Dowling Catholic is similar last names. I spent some time learning about the teachers here who either have a child that is a student or teacher here at Dowling. This is your chance to learn more about the Bertram, Degen, Leaños, Wiskus, and Pauly families.
Some of you may have had Mrs. Bertram for math, but you may not know her sophomore daughter, Tessa. She loves having her mom teach here because it means she can just go to her room if she needs something, especially if she needs help with math. Mrs. Bertram agrees with her because, “there is just something about seeing my daughter every day at school.” A question I asked Mrs. Bertram was, “how do you balance professionalism with being a parent in the same building?” Her answer was a classic answer you would hear from many teachers who are also parents: “I just try to treat all of them like I would treat my own.” Tessa sees her mom as “mom” during the day because the Bertrams have a rule where Mrs. Bertram doesn’t have her children in class.
Up next is Mrs. Degen and Ms. Degen, the duo many students know. Ms. Degen came back to Dowling after teaching elsewhere for a bit, but teaching together was never a thought in their minds until it happened. According to both Degens, their relationship with each other is closer which mostly definitely helps when it comes to being colleagues. Their responses to my question, “what is it like being colleagues instead of just parent and child?” is nearly identical. They discussed running emails by each other, discussing topics, supporting each other, and having the best interests for each other and their students. Ms. Degen said, “I’ve known since grade school that I wanted to be a teacher because I saw my mom’s passion for the profession.”
For the students who take Spanish, you may know Dr. Leaños and his daughter, sophomore Azucena. Dr. Leaños enjoys all the quiet and unexpected moments during the school day, whether it’s seeing her across the gym at mass, spotting her in the hallway or crowds, that instantly make his day brighter. Azucena finds it a blessing because when she had her father as a teacher freshman year, she felt very comfortable. She finds it very awkward when people make the connection, but also when she has to tell people that she is not fluent in Spanish. On the other hand, teaching Azucena has only strengthened his perspective on his daughter because she has always been so in tune with academics. “It is a true blessing to share perspectives on what she is learning whether it is AP Euro or other thoughtful conversations on our weekend runs.”
Many know of Mrs. Wiskus as a coach and one of her sons, senior Matthew. But she has a second son here named Tommy. According to Wiskus, she loves having Matthew and Tommy stop by her room, seeing them in the halls, or going to mass together. Matthew and Tommy agree by saying it’s nice to have their mom here at school. They get to talk with her everyday. With Matthew having her as a teacher, he finds her to be more teacher than mom at school because “she gets mad at me when I’m not paying attention in class.” For Tommy, he just sees her as mom because he doesn’t have her as a teacher. Wiskus wants them to “learn, consistently give their best effort, always have faith at the center of their lives, be a good person, and learn to have confidence in who they are.” Mrs. Wiskus loves balancing being a parent and a teacher because everyone here is amazing. “Matthew and Tommy are awesome… I honestly feel more connected to the student body by having Matthew and Tommy here. It makes teaching and coaching here even more fun!”
Lastly is the duo whose answers almost made me cry, Mr. Pauly and his daughter Ms. Pauly. Mr. Pauly is very glad to have his daughter here with him in his last year at DCHS. He loves seeing her in the halls, even if it’s once per week and it helps with their parent/child relationship because they have the opportunity to support each other and share information. Ms. Pauly was very unsure if she would have the chance to work with her dad because the possibility was slim to get a position at Dowling before he retired. He never pushed her to apply when a position opened, but she did and is very glad that she did because it has been such a strong start to her career. Ms. Pauly loves working with her dad whether it be sitting next to each other on PD days, calling his room when she has a question, observing him teach, and seeing a new side of her day. Both agree that the hardest part of being colleagues is referring to each other as Mr. and Miss, but they still have that true dad and daughter relationship because they ask about jeans days, life opinions, or ask for cash to get lunch.
Ms. Pauly thinks sharing a career in education is super meaningful because she gets to see firsthand the kind of educator her father has been for 20 years. She gets to see students’ respect for him and how seriously he takes his role. She finds comfort in knowing that if it is a bad day she can walk down the hall and talk with someone who gets it. “I am grateful that I get to start my career in a place that meant so much to him. And grateful that, for a little while at least, we get to share this season of teaching together.” As for Mr. Pauly, “I couldn’t be more proud of her choices, her character, and her ability to make me smile. I think Ms. Pauly will continue to be an outstanding teacher because her heart is so full and she always strives for improvement. As such, I am a proud papa and I know she will continue to be a great teacher, at least until she goes professional as an opera singer.”
In addition to the above families, the Eure, Lensing, Sheaff, Metz, Maloney, Raymond, Cownie, Arnold, and Clark families all have connections here as well. Dowling is truly a legacy!
