Rachel Phillips Brings Her “A” Game to Athenian Math Department

Teaching is not the only job in the world. What if Rachel Phillips, one of the newest additions to Athenian’s Math Department, had never become a teacher?

“This has honestly never crossed my mind! Probably still working in education, but maybe more of an emphasis on curriculum or educational technology,” Rachel said.

Rachel has always felt a calling to teaching. “I chose to be a teacher because teaching is something I’ve always loved to do. Somehow, even through high school and college, all of my part-time jobs involved some aspect of teaching. From board games to swing dancing to horseback riding to math (all real teaching jobs I’ve had), teaching has always engaged me and motivated me to keep learning myself,” Rachel said.

Before Athenian, “I was teaching at another local private school as a math teacher,” Rachel said. After graduating from UC Berkeley with a degree in mathematics with a focus on teaching, she went on to earn a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Mills College.

Rachel’s prior experience as a math teacher helped her jump right in to her first year at Athenian. Her students say that she teaches with the air and authority of a seasoned math teacher, but also with the humor of a good friend.

Tenth-grader Rosa Alvarez said, “Rachel makes everything very entertaining but still makes sure that students understand the material. She is one of my favorite teachers and outside of class she is very fun to talk to. Rachel’s personality is very unique. She is very funny but serious at the same time.”

Rachel appreciates many aspects of Athenian.

“I like the balance between rigorous academics and the IDEALS. I feel like a lot of schools have a catchy acronym they use to describe what makes their graduates unique; Athenian is the first school I’ve taught at where I feel the staff and students are alike,” Rachel said.

Next year, Rachel hopes to continue adjusting to Athenian’s pace and routines.

“[I plan to] figure out a better system for the classroom’s set of calculators to keep them actually in the classroom, grade faster, and do a better job updating the Canvas page,” Rachel said.

Rachel’s students appreciate her warmth and commitment to student success.

Twelfth-grader David Montgomery, a student in Rachel’s Game On March Term course, said, “She was very relatable because she liked board games, which helped break down the student-teacher barrier. She’s someone you could play Uno with.”

Other Game On students also appreciated Rachel’s gaming expertise. “She plays board games that are even longer than the ones I play. She plays very complicated games,” said 10th-grader Oliver Abola.