Teachers of Yesteryear

Mr. Tom Danner

BY JULIA WICKHAM

Tom Danner has taught passion, commitment and pride every day at Western Dubuque for the 38 the years; he has been a teacher here. What makes Tom Danner an astounding teacher is not how long he has been teaching; it is what he is been teaching. If you have graduated from Western Dubuque High School, chances are you’ve had him as a teacher or as a coach. Over the course of the years, Mr. Danner has taught nine different classes ranging from Health Science class to leadership class to P.E. Tom Danner is one of the most active and dedicated members of the bobcat family. Mr. Danner does not care about just the athletics or just the academics. He cares about the students and the community as a whole. That is what makes him one of the best teachers, and why he has impacted so many students. We asked Mr. Danner, “Why have you stayed here so long?” without missing a beat he responded, “It feels like home.”

A year after teaching in Mason City, Tom Danner moved to Western Dubuque to teach what is now called Human Life Science “I truly enjoyed what I taught and the people here. I just became truly great friends with the staff [and] the community.” Mr. Danner has affected hundreds of kids by making them feel welcome and appreciated.  Tom Danner does not just affect kids teaching but also through coaching. He assisted Tom Kilberg in wrestling, and a year later he began coaching the freshman football team, a position he still loves to do today. Later he became head coach of wrestling for six years, retiring in 2011. “Then I picked up student council somewhere in there about 10 years ago because they couldn’t find anyone, so I said, ‘sure I’ll help,’ then it just became a great passion.”

Mr. Danner has seen a lot of changes in the past 38 years. For example a restaurant where students would eat lunch across the street called the Bobcat is gone.  The ninth grade annex in Farley is now Seaton. Other changes include the additions and the construction; “We used to have wrestling practice in the Spanish room. For class, students would have to walk to one of the 14 portable classrooms outside.” Our school is growing and Mr. Danner’s goal: “to get better and better every day.”

Mr. Danner loves West Dubuque, but when asked what he loves the most, he replied, “Just ask anybody…it’s the people.” What sets West Dubuque apart is its staff, students, and community members.  “It’s not this sport or that activity it’s West Dubuque; we are all on the same page.” That is why Tom Danner has stayed here for so long.  “If you ask anybody outside of our district, they say it’s different; it’s a very special place.”