PaliHi’s John Rauschuber Wins 2008 Petrick Educator Award

When John Rauschuber looks toward the sky, he can see President George Bush smiling down on him. Or Al Gore. Posters of the political archrivals adorn the ceiling of Rauschuber’s Palisades Charter High School classroom, where he teaches the AP Government course–and where his sophisticated teaching style has won him notice. Rauschuber, 39, is one of five local teachers to win a Lori Petrick Excellence in Education Award from the Palisades Charter Schools Foundation. He will receive $2,000 and a crystal trophy during an afternoon ceremony at a Palisades residence this Sunday. The Petrick Award has been granted annually since 2003. ‘I received word from my administrator,’ Rauschuber says. ‘And yes, I was surprised and honored to win the award. ‘I’m in good company,’ he continues, praising the ‘talented faculty’ at PaliHi and fellow 2008 Petrick winners Stephen Klima (English) and David Schalek (science). Originally from Lompoc, Rauschuber attended UC San Diego and taught at Eagle Rock High School for three years before moving to the Westside, where his wife’s family lives. Eleven years ago, Rauschuber joined the PaliHi faculty and now teaches three classes with about 36 teenagers in each class. The social studies teacher rattles off what he covers in his AP Government classes: ‘Constitutional underpinnings, political socialization/behavior, elections, political parties and interest groups, media analysis, campaign contributions, the branches of government, civil rights and liberties, and public policy.’ Rauschuber says he benefits from the fact that he has another role at the high school. ‘I’m also the data management coordinator, so I’m using the technology to improve student achievement.’ In turn, his students benefit from his technological acumen. This year, Rauschuber used the Web-based program Mastery Manager to analyze student writing and assist them to improve their analytical writing over the course of six months. ‘This is the first year I’ve used data to back it up, and it was really validating,’ he says. Mastery Manager ‘uses a rubric for grading essays and assigns scores. I’m able to look at all 110 of my students, in the area of strengths and weaknesses, and then come up with strategies to improve those areas, using the data to guide my practice.’ Rauschuber also employs simulation games to give his students a virtual look at what might otherwise remain abstract concepts. ‘We’ll create a mock U.S. Senate,’ Rauschuber says. ‘Or we’ll have a simulation game where the students form little countries and choose how much of the resources they will use to produce guns and butter. They create alliances and learn to deal with rogue nations and the nature of war,’ a la the philosophy of Carl Von Clausewitz. ‘These simulation games bring out a lot of real-life events,’ Rauschuber continues. ‘We do a lot of discussion boards online. It’s a great opportunity for students to communicate with each other outside of class. We recently discussed Obama’s speech on race from a few weeks ago.’ For Rauschuber, it’s a pleasure to enter Pacific Palisades every morning. His day begins at his Marina del Rey home, which he shares with wife Shelly and their children, Aden, 10 (who attends Marquez), Weston, 6 (Open Charter in Westchester), and Sarah, 1. ‘It’s a beautiful drive up the coast,’ Rauschuber says, smiling. ‘The students are fabulous and diverse. I love what I do. I look forward to coming to work each day and teaching the kids.’ Ultimately, working at PaliHi has been more fulfilling than the last school he worked at. ‘Eagle Rock wasn’t as diverse as here,’ Rauschuber points out. ‘We’re also an independent charter, so we’re in control of our own destiny, our own finances. We’re able to fund programs that are most beneficial to students.’ Indeed, PaliHi has become cutting edge in many areas. As recently reported in the Palisadian-Post, the high school offers one of the most sophisticated film and animation programs in the Los Angeles school district. But as Rauschuber points out, ‘This wasn’t always so. A lot of this has happened over the last five years,’ thanks to independent charter status.