If you take or are planning to take precalculus, chances are you know the new Upper School math teacher, Julie Kramschuster. Mrs. Kramschuster, nicknamed “Kram” by both herself and her students, was a new teacher at Barstow last year. Since student in-person attendance was mixed, many students did not have the chance to get to know some of the school’s new faculty members.

At first, Mrs. Kramschuster had a strange experience at Barstow, indicating, “I did not know what to expect coming into Barstow since last year was by far the weirdest school year I have ever taught in. Then the first week of school came and I was not able to interact with students the way I wanted to. It became a little better around the end of the year but still overall a different experience. I hope to change that this year and want to get to know my students better.”

Now in her second year at Barstow, Mrs. Kramschuster can compare the two experiences, saying, “I didn’t mind Zoom, but it was just a little bit of a hassle and certainly not ideal. One thing my husband and I learned about ourselves was that even though we think of ourselves as academic and introverted people, we really liked to go out and do things and interact with students.” 

Mrs. Kramschuster’s husband is a teacher as well at Notre Dame de Sion High School. They have four kids, including one living at home, one attending college, and one who is currently pregnant. Mrs. Kramschuster gushes, “I am going to be a grandmother in around late March, something which I am super excited about.” In addition to their children, Mrs. Kramschuster and her husband adopted two golden retrievers and jokingly added that she has mixed feelings about them. 

Despite currently working in education, Mrs. Kramschuster has a law degree and practiced law for ten years. Before Barstow, Mrs. Kramschuster taught math and physics at Center High School, Odessa High School, and Rockhurst University. Her journey to Barstow started with her beginning to look for a full time position at a private school since she didn’t want to continue teaching at a public school. She believes Barstow, “is the perfect school, and that every kid should have an opportunity to experience Barstow. The way things are taught here is just ideal as far as helping students develop their skills both inside and outside the classroom.”

While Mrs. Kramschuster is still getting to know everyone here, she says, “I see a group of sophisticated adults that are trying to do school the right way. Everybody has different personalities and come together even though all the teachers are different.” Overall, she did not know what to expect of Barstow, but she knows that it is an excellent school with exceptional students. In general, Mrs. Kramschuster prefers the new environment this year and some of the events this year such as the pep assembly. 

Outside school, Mrs. Kramschuster loves riding motorcycles, gardening, traveling and cooking. She comments that, “Riding a bike is really different in the traffic, but my Harley feels safe generally, and it is pretty easy to swerve and avoid things on the road and maintain your balance on the bike.” She likes to go riding in the country with her husband, who also rides motorcycles. She believes, “you should drive a car for at least three years before riding a bike, and that as long as you are safe about it, you will probably be okay.” On any given day you can find Mrs. Kramschuster’s Harley-Davidson parked in the teacher lot. She also likes to watch her kids do things such as softball and swimming. 

Mrs. Kramschuster had a final message for her students, “I really want students to understand that my goal is to be a positive adult and that I want to support kids, not only so that they can make progress with their mathematics but also in their lives. I want to be approachable and don’t want people to be afraid to ask me questions.”