Eighth grade History Teacher Ms. Jennifer Irish has spent the last 15 years enriching the lives of Westridge students through her insightful, thought-provoking teaching style, and at the end of this year she will be retiring. 

Ms. Irish’s impact on the Westridge community can be seen very clearly through those who spend almost the same amount of time with her as her students—her colleagues. Mr. John Cross, seventh grade English Teacher, has been working and sharing an office space with Ms. Irish since she began her position as a History Teacher in the Middle School. “She really…considers how she navigates the world [and] she considers how she interacts with people—one of the kindest humans that I’ve had the pleasure of knowing,” he said.

Ms. Kara Ramirez, eighth grade English Teacher and close friend of Ms. Irish, reflected on how she believes Ms. Irish would like to be known after retirement. She said, “I think she’d want to be remembered for someone who offers students support and the opportunity to think critically about the past and the present and to draw connections between the two.”

Seventh grade History Teacher Ms. Gigi Bizar expressed her experience working with Ms. Irish and the impact that she has had on her life at Westridge. She said, “Ms. Irish is one of the best parts of my day at Westridge. I do not know what I’m going to do without her because she is my anchor, my guiding light, my lighthouse. I wish her a great life filled with adventure, love, and peace.”

While teachers have been significantly impacted by Ms. Irish’s presence at school, students have also expressed very positive sentiments regarding her influence as a teacher. “I felt like I learned a lot here in class this year. I just feel like I got a lot of information that I’m gonna keep and really hold onto for the rest of my life,” said Ainsley C. ’30. 

Similarly, Lettie W. ’30 said, “I really love the way Ms. Irish makes her classes flow and how we all have group discussions. And it feels like she really cares about what we think.” 

Before working at Westridge, Ms. Irish taught at Franklin High School before coming to Westridge as a long-term substitute teacher in the Upper School, and eventually a full-time American Studies History Teacher for eighth grade. While describing what initially drew her to this position, she reflected on the school’s environment. She said, “I thought so much care and attention to each individual student was really valuable, and frankly, it made me want to bring my own girls to Westridge.” 

As an eighth grader myself, I can attest to Ms. Irish’s caring, thought-provoking teaching style. She has always taken incredible care to foster an environment open to thoughtful and inquisitive discussions. At the beginning of the year, I was unsure of what to expect from the class. I still had so much to learn about writing, critical thinking, and what it meant to be a historian. But whether it was writing dozens of analytical paragraphs or researching for a project, her support was unwavering, and I felt as though I was constantly learning something new. In class, following a project or a semester, we would often write reflections on the work we had done. The questions were usually similar, and I found that the more I answered the same questions each time I completed an assignment, the more I actually understood what I was doing and why I was doing it. The reflections weren’t something to be dreaded, but rather a tool that I could use to better my work or acknowledge the improvements I had already made. In Ms. Irish’s classroom, I have always felt nothing short of emotionally and intellectually engaged and stimulated. It is rather difficult to describe in words the profound effect eighth grade history has had on me this year. I, like the rest of my classmates, have learned so much about history and myself as a student, and I attribute so much of it to Ms. Irish and the work that she has put into making her class the perceptive course that it is today. 

When it comes to teaching a topic as complex as U.S. history, Ms. Irish’s core philosophy places a much stronger importance on the process of learning rather than the graded outcome. “At Westridge, there’s a real focus on grades, and I would love to be here and not grade anyone, ever, because I think that then the focus can shift on the learning instead of the product,” she said. It is precisely that dedication to her teaching and students’ growth that makes this goodbye all the more meaningful. The Westridge community wishes her well as she embarks on this new chapter, and the community is so thankful to have had the privilege of knowing and being taught by Ms. Irish.