Teachers on the West Ranch campus are known for their dedication to their students and hard work, whether classes are remote or in-person. However, their passion for education isn’t the only thing that sets our faculty apart. West Ranch is home to several teacher couples, married duos who give their all to lead and instruct students of all grade levels. 

The Paw Print got the chance to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Arrowsmith, Mr. and Mrs. Holen, Mr. and Mrs. Priske, and Mr. and Mrs. Livermont about their experience as a married couple of educational leaders.

The Arrowsmiths

Mr. Arrowsmith

Q. How was your experience working in the same place as your significant other?

A. I love it! It is great because we are literally two minutes away from each other. Whenever we have lunch together, we hang out together. When things come up, we can talk right away. We do not have to email or text each other. We can also carpool with each other so that makes it very convenient. 

Mrs. Arrowsmith

Q. What are the biggest advantages of working in the same place as your significant other?

A. I get to check in on the most important person in my world, next to my kids, all day long. It is nice to be able to have lunch together. When we have a conversation about work, it is much easier because we know exactly what the other person is talking about. 

The Holens

Mr. Holen

Q. Have you had any fun encounters or interactions with your significant other on campus?

A. It is more like, is there ever a day that we do not have fun encounters or interactions?  Our goal in our relationship is to bring out the best in each other daily.  [Within] the school admin, the joke is that my wife is the “better” Holen.

Mrs. Holen

Q. How does your work life differ from your personal life at home with your significant other?

A. I know we talk a lot about school at home and you know maybe students that we both know, share stories from the day. I talk about it more than he does, he’ll say, “Excuse me, isn’t this the weekend?” or “Isn’t this winter break?” or “Aren’t we on vacation?” So I take home work a little bit more than he does. It’s 24/7 West Ranch High School.

The Livermonts

Mr. Livermont

Q. What are the biggest advantages of working in the same place as your significant other?

A. The part that I love the most is the fact that we have a shared bond. We’re both Wildcats. It’s just like cheering for the same sports team, we’re both Wildcats at heart and that’s something we both share. And just teaching in general: The one that actually inspired me to teach is my wife. Seeing how she inspired me and how she inspires her students made me want to become a teacher. 

Mrs. Livermont

Q. What do you love about teaching, as well as teaching specifically with your significant other?

A. I love interacting with my students.  I learn a lot from them. They open my eyes to new ideas and make me smile everyday (even if they can’t see it underneath my mask).  My husband is very fun and silly. Teaching and coaching are truly his calling. He inspires me to be more open and fun.      

The Priskes

Mr. Priske

Q. What are the biggest advantages of working in the same place as your significant other?

A. I think because Mrs. Priske is in charge of ASB, there are a lot of different opportunities to do fun things with her. It just gets me out of my world here and expands it to see what she does. It is really fun to see how much time and energy she puts in and see the great things that come out of it. 

Mrs. Priske

Q. Have you had any fun encounters or interactions with your significant other on campus?

A. It is really funny because Mr. Priske teaches math so his classroom is really structured and strict. Then, you have my classes which are a little more up and moving. When we share some of the same students, some people will say, “Mr. Priske is so mean” and then say to me, “You are so nice.” But that is not really true, it is just because of the different ways our classes are structured.