Her Story
Sue Rippe teaches college biology to juniors and seniors at Olathe Northwest High School, where she has taught since the school opened in 2003. She calls her classroom “a dynamic, active, lab-based environment,” and over the door, spelled out in chemical symbols, is the statement “Courage + Passion = Success.” Colorful butterflies hang from the ceiling, and the lab benches are “always a buzz of activity.”
She avoids “cook book” labs. To study enzymes she hands students Lactaid pills and asks them to design their own experiment, vary the temperature, pH or substance, analyze the data and write it up in a lab notebook like scientists. In her flipped classroom students watch a podcast on mitosis at home, then use pop beads in class, prepare onion root tip slides and run a chi square analysis. They also read the prologue to The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks to explore the ethics of medical research.
In the pre-engineering chemistry course she designed, students researched and mixed a sterling silver alloy, designed their rings in CAD, printed polymer models and poured the metal with help from the technology education teacher. The project is still done today. Her principal calls her “a mentor, advisor, and sometimes ‘mom’ to at least 120 students every year.”
Beyond the Classroom
Rippe was Kansas Teacher of the Year for 2000, when she was chemistry teacher and science chair at Wichita Northwest High School. When Olathe Northwest opened in 2003 she became facilitator and chair of its 21st Century Aerospace and Engineering Program, which she helped build from a basic framework into a premier program with university scholarships and paid internships with local engineering firms.
She founded and coached the school’s FIRST Robotics team, started with an $18,000 Kauffman grant, and she sponsors Future Teachers and leads the yearly bone marrow drive. She was named the Air Force Association’s National Teacher of the Year, serves on the board of the Kansas Foundation for Excellence in Education, and works with the national Teachers of the Year network. Her students’ parents and former students say she keeps in touch long after they graduate.
Philosophy Into Practice
Rippe thinks the goal of education is to encourage curiosity: “I try to emphasize the questions.” She sees herself as “the facilitator of learning,” helping students find answers and putting them “at the forefront of their own learning.” She credits the nuns of her elementary school with teaching her that “the art of teaching is an affair of both the mind and the heart.”
On the biggest issues, she names technology and college and career readiness. Her school lets students bring their own devices and she uses a stop-and-go light to show when phones may be used. For readiness, she has arranged externships at KU Medical Center and Boeing, built a biotechnology careers unit, coordinated a student internship program and served on the board of YouthFriends, a school-based mentoring program.
“My main goal is to prepare my students to succeed in this world with an appetite to be life-long learners.”Susan Rippe
In Her Own Words
“I want students to gain a sense of wonderment in the world around them.”Susan Rippe
“Excitement breeds excitement!”Susan Rippe
“The art of teaching is an affair of both the mind and the heart.”Susan Rippe
What Others Said
“There is, without a doubt, no other teacher that has shown as much dedication, motivation, and care for teaching as much as Sue Rippe.”Drew Keiter, science department chair, Olathe Northwest High School
“Sue is always selected by the senior class to read names at graduation, and former students comment that Mrs. Rippe had a great impact on their success in college.”Dr. Gwen Poss, Principal, Olathe Northwest High School
“She is inspirational, knowledgeable, and encourages excellence from every life she touches.”Laura Lombardi, parent of a former student
“What I have admired most about Sue is her positive and humble attitude and sincere dedication to her students and profession.”Andy Tompkins, President and CEO, Kansas Board of Regents
“Sue Rippe was the team’s founding head coach.”Jon-Bernard Pro, former student, U.S. Navy