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Mr. David Woolgar is in his first year at St. Serra as the teacher for seventh and eighth grade Advanced-Plus ELA and seventh grade Academic Skills. A native from Newfoundland, Canada, Mr. Woolgar enjoys finding ways to challenge students while maintaining a learning environment that is both fun and encouraging. He finds that students respond very well to this style of teaching, sharing that, “It's great to see the students evolve academically and take on assignments presented to them with a positive attitude.”

Upon arriving in the U.S. from Canada, Mr. Woolgar initially began teaching English at Anaheim High School. “It was a great challenge coming from such a small place and teaching at a school as big as Anaheim HS. There were more students enrolled than people in my entire community,” he says. Mr. Woolgar eventually moved over to Oxford Academy to teach English Honors for eighth and ninth grade. During that time he was able to complete an MBA, which led to a teaching opportunity at Santa Ana College. After several years at Santa Ana College he moved to Irvine Valley College, and then eventually to Saddleback College, where he has remained for several years. The experience he gained from teaching at the high school and junior college levels has helped Mr. Woolgar realize the value of his role in education: “Teaching at many different academic levels, in diverse socio-economic cultures, has enabled me to develop an appreciation of what a privilege it is to be able to help students maximize their potential.”

It was while backpacking through Europe thirty years ago that Mr. Woolgar met his wife, Shannon. They have been married for twenty-six years and have two children. Their son is a senior at Boise State, and their daughter is a freshman at the University of Mississippi. They also have a rescue dog named Olive. Growing up, Mr. Woolgar played soccer and hockey. He attended St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia on an academic scholarship, and also played hockey there. He still enjoys playing hockey regularly, and has been involved in coaching with the Junior Ducks program. But when asked about his favorite activity, he currently loves to play golf. He tries to get out on the links as often as he can.

Mr. Woolgar and his students keep very busy throughout the year. To engage his students, Mr. Woolgar makes sure to creatively infuse his lessons with concepts they find interesting or to which they can relate. His Advanced-Plus ELA students in seventh grade are currently wrapping up the novel Crispin: The Cross of Lead by author Avi, during which they explored the character development of the protagonist and how it could be compared to the life of a teenager in today's society. In his eighth grade Advanced-Plus ELA class, they are studying creative writing, multiple-level plot development, and character development while reading Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool. And the students in his Academic Skills class are completing a photography portfolio that focuses on a theme or images that they find impactful. “I have always believed that you can have fun while learning,” says Mr. Woolgar, “and that is a philosophy I try to bring to the classroom every day.”