February 2019 Newsletter: Teacher Spotlight — James and Victoria Schmidt

February is a time for lovebirds, so this month, the Shaker Schools Connection chatted with High School teachers (and married couple) James and Victoria Schmidt. They’re the parents of two Shaker students, fan favorites of High School students and funny to boot (both are skilled deadpanners). Mr. Schmidt teaches AP Physics, Computer Science, IB Physics, Honors Physics, IB Computer Science and 9 Honors Physical Sciences. Mrs. Schmidt teaches 9 Honors English, 11 Core and Honors English, 12 AP English and Composition. Combined, they’ve been teaching at Shaker for 22 years. Learn more about how this couple met, how they came to be teachers and why they love teaching in Shaker. 

How did you meet?
Mr. Schmidt: We met when we were freshmen at Case in February 1993. We bumped into each other at the Thwing Student Center and she said, “I like your jacket, you smell good and I want you to be my boyfriend so that I can borrow your jacket.” And it did become her jacket, so it was a total winner. 
Mrs. Schmidt: Yep. That’s true. 

First date?
Mr. Schmidt: Our first date was to a Grateful Dead show in March at the old Richfield Coliseum. Our first kiss was during the song “Stella Blue.” And when we got married, we had these lyrics printed on our program: All the years combined, they melt into a dream. We got married August 4, 2001 here in Cleveland, despite the fact that we were living in Las Vegas at the time. We wanted to come back and see all of our friends. 
Mrs. Schimdt: It was a very DIY wedding and pretty low rent. And it was one of those moments when you realize that all these people won’t be together every again like this until you’re dead. We had such a good time -- it was a lot of fun.

So what took you to Las Vegas?
Mrs. Schmidt: Teaching jobs. At the time, Clark County schools were hiring 1,300 teachers a year. 
Mr. Schmidt: I’d grown weary of the Cleveland winters by then, so I applied for a teaching position in Las Vegas and got a job as an AP Physics teacher at a magnet school. After I’d done the phone interview, Vicki came back home after work and I said, “I don’t know what you’re going to say to this, but I’m moving to Las Vegas to teach. And you can come with me.” And she was like, “Yeah, I’m coming with you.”
Mrs. Schmidt: It was a huge district, so I got a job teaching seventh grade English at the feeder school to his school. The first year we were there they built something like four new high schools in Las Vegas proper. There was literally tumbleweed at the end of the street we lived on when we first moved there and by the time we left five years later, there was a whole city built at the end of the street. 
Mr. Schmidt: It was a place where the cost of living was low and you could get a good job out of college, but at the end of five years, she was like, “This place is crazy. We need  get out of here.”

So you came back to Cleveland?
Mr. Schmidt: I saw Shaker had an opening for a Science teacher. I’d done some observations here when I was a student teacher and I knew about the District from fraternity brothers who were Shaker grads. They were always talking about the schools and said that I should check them out, so I did. And I got a job in 2002.
Mrs. Schmidt: When we came back, I was teaching at the Hebrew Academy in Cleveland Heights, then I worked for a tutoring company and a charter school. At that time, we were starting our family and the kids were small, so I was working part time. Then, Dr. Hutchings opened up the Innovative Center and I went to teach there. It was so rewarding, working with kids one on one. But then I missed being in the classroom, so when there was an opening to teach 10 Honors English at the High School, I went for it.

Did you both always want to be teachers?
Mrs. Schmidt: I actually went to Case to study mechanical engineering, but then I switched my major to English and I decided that I would go into education as a backup. I never in a million years thought that I’d be a teacher. But I love what I do. I’m a big believer in John Lennon’s “life is what happen when you’re making other plans.”
Mr. Schmidt: I had similar engineering majors in mind, but I wasn’t good at chemical engineering and I didn’t like mechanical engineering. Then, I started tutoring physics in college for work study and I realized that I had a knack for explaining physics. 

What’s the secret to your happy marriage? 
Mr. Schmidt: We laugh a lot and she tolerates me. 
Mrs. Schmidt: We always say that we’ve grown up together. We had to figure out how to rent houses and then how to buy houses and cars. We’ve had to navigate everything on our own together. 

What do you both love about work at Shaker?
Mr. Schmidt: It’s always the kids. I appreciate the diversity we have here and that there’s not a cookie cutter student. And the people we work with are amazing. I’ve met hundreds of other science teachers, but I’ve never met people like the people I work with here, in terms of knowledge of content and their dedication at all levels. Also, our building administrators have provided a good experience for me throughout my time here. 
Mrs. Schmidt: I love the English department and how everyone in the department helps everyone else. We’re all very supportive of each other and our students. Everyone in this department is so focused on student learning and student success.
Mr. Schmidt: I think there’s something to be said for the number of people who live and work in Shaker. It speaks highly of this place that we choose to reinvest in our District every day.