For 17 years, Bill Valenzano has been a part of the WHHS community, teaching health. He has also dedicated 10 years coaching cross country and was the boys’ head track coach for seven years.

“I’m certified to teach physical education, but I’m primarily in health,” Valenzano said. “I actually prefer being in the classroom rather than being in the gym.”

Valenzano’s favorite memory of WHHS, like most students, is the end of the school year. He believes that graduation is a memorable and special time for SENIORS.

In line with this sentiment, he has a collection of Chatterbox issues dating back to 2014.

One thing he’ll miss about teaching at WHHS is the people.

“Don’t take life so seriously; have fun,” Valenzano said.

After nearly 30 years of service at WHHS, Jo Baldwin has retired, and her impact won’t be forgotten anytime soon.

Known by students as the “super nice tech lady,” Baldwin became a go-to source for kindness and technological knowledge. Whether a student had forgotten a password, or accidentally shut down their laptop mid-assignment, Baldwin always had a solution and a piece of candy to make their day better.

Her daughter Laurie Cotton, a math and engineering teacher at WHHS, says she’s been inspired by her mother, Baldwin, her entire life.

“She gives her all to help young people experience new things and challenge themselves while always feeling welcome, accepted, and loved,” Cotton said. “She’s been a champion for equity and access in public education.”

From raising her family in Cincinnati to helping thousands of students grow, Jo Baldwin’s legacy is one of love, service and strength.

“She’s always been the heart behind the tech,” Cotton said. “And behind so much more.”

Gallery • 1 Photos

Used with permission from Laurie Cotton

"The teachers at Walnut are amazing people," Jo Baldwin said. "They work so hard for their students all the time. And I always knew that if they were asking for tech help it was because they had already tried and they needed to do something wonderful with their students, and I never wanted any of them to be waiting for me to resolve something. Some years I had more help than others."

Inspired by a family of educators, Rajni Harsh taught in Abu Dhabi and Cleveland before coming to WHHS, where she has spent most of her career.

After teaching for almost three decades, including 19 years of AP Biology, Harsh is retiring at the end of this school year.

“I love my job because of the group of kids I’m teaching,” Harsh said. “They are so good, so passionate, responsible; they listen and whenever I talk to any teachers who have been here for a very long time, all teachers say we are here because of students.”

Harsh has held several positions outside teaching, including science department co-chair, ILT member, Cum Laude Committee member and Continuous Improvement Committee member. In the evolving field of biology, Harsh stays up to date by working at the University of Cincinnati’s medical school over the summer.

“Students here are so intelligent [and] smart, and they keep asking questions, which we never thought about, and that makes us think more [about] why things happen, or do more research to find out more things,” Harsh said. “I like that challenge because if there is no challenge, then it’s not fun.”

Harsh plans to spend retirement gardening, knitting and visiting her grandchildren in Atlanta.

Her advice to students: “Just keep working hard. Be good human beings.”

Jerome Brady, English teacher, is retiring after 34 years in education. He has worked at several different schools across Cincinnati, meeting all types of students.

“I started [teaching] in Salt Lake City, Utah, and I taught three years there,” Brady said. “Then, I moved to Cincinnati and taught primarily at Hughes High School. Then, two years at Aiken, and then the rest of my career was here [at Walnut].”

Brady has worked with various teaching methods throughout his vast career in education.

“I’ve taught homeless children, I’ve taught incarcerated children, I’ve taught truant students who were court ordered back to school. I’ve had a lot of interesting assignments over the years.”

Brady thoroughly enjoyed his career at WHHS, expressing the uniqueness of the students.

“Walnut students are a different breed, and it’s great working for that reason,” Brady said. “That’s what makes the school what it is; it’s the students. Until you teach somewhere else, it’s hard to explain what a pleasure it is to work with the kids here.”

As he transitions into the next phase of his life, Brady leaves his WHHS family with this message: “I just wanted to say thanks for a great career here, thank you very much.”

Math teacher Anne Ramsay will retire at the end of this school year after 30 years in education.

Originally an English major, Ramsay began her career working at an advertising agency in Washington, D.C.

“I realized it wasn’t fulfilling for me,” Ramsay said. “I did some soul-searching and decided I wanted to try teaching.”

Ramsay pursued a master’s degree for teaching and made the switch to math, following in her mother’s footsteps. Now, after three decades in the classroom, including five years at WHHS, Ramsay is retiring to spend more time with her parents.

“For many years I said I’d never be a math teacher but realized later that it was silly to not pursue something because my relative had done it,” Ramsay said.

With no formal training at the time, she landed a job at a private Catholic school, where a veteran teacher mentored her through the challenges of managing a classroom.

Ramsay spent most of her career in smaller, private schools, and came to WHHS during the pandemic.

“This is the only time in my career that I’ve taught at a big public school, which is kind of unusual,” Ramsay said. “Having this as my last experience of teaching has been great.”

Even in a new environment, her love for teaching remained constant.

“I love introducing a new topic and hearing students’ ideas about it, and then their ability to figure it out and then explain that,” Ramsay said. “I find that super gratifying.”

Her advice to students: “Think very carefully about picking [a career] that’s fulfilling. If it’s not a job you love, you won’t feel satisfied.”

From a young age, Johanka Hart-Tompkins always loved the idea of teaching.

“I would put my dolls and my teddy bears into a classroom situation and I would teach them math,” Hart-Tompkins said. “I’d get very stern with them and correct them when they told me the wrong number.”

Hart-Tompkins graduated from Ohio State with a double major in German and Russian, then moved on to Miami University to get a master’s degree in German and education.

Hart-Tompkins has taught for a total of 45 years, with 30 years at Princeton and 15 years at WHHS. She has taught both German and Russian, being the one who started the WHHS Russian program.

“I love teaching both Russian 1 and German 1,” Hart-Tompkins said. “The level one students are so enthusiastic. The kids get really excited.”

Hart-Tompkins’ favorite part about teaching is simply laughing with the students.

Hart Tompkins will greatly miss the energy she receives from the students she teaches, and the politeness and respect they show not just to teachers but also to their fellow classmates. Teenagers are her favorite group to teach.

“They’re sponges, but they already have a big brain,” Hart-Tompkins said.

Upon retiring, Hart-Tompkins plans to focus on writing more books. She already has one published called “Slavka: The Daughters of Bohemia.”

Her advice to students: “Learn as many cultures and languages as you can, because it’s understanding people from around the world that we can actually envision world peace.