William Duxler, one of Pierce’s prior Physics Department chairs, will be retiring after nearly 40 years of working with the school.
Duxler, who was chair of the Physics Department for nine years, excluding this year, has a long list of accomplishments while with Pierce, but still feels it’s time to retire.
“You can’t stay forever,” Duxler said, chuckling.
Among his accomplishments are the creation of a test creation and grading system for teachers, the creation of the assessment testing software used across the district, and the introduction of Physical Science 13, which dealt with alternative energy sources.
However, he feels his most important work was changing the physics curriculum from lecture-based to active participation, which was based on proven techniques that were researched at the University of Washington and the University of Oregon, he said.
“[The best part was] seeing how students went from passive to excited during classes,” Duxler said.
Duxler doesn’t fret about his retiring, as he will continue to work with the district exclusively as manager of the assessment software, and will leave the Physics Department in good hands.
“We have a very fine physics staff to carry on,” Duxler said.