For the past 38 years, Arroyo Grande High School has been home to Gail Varvel, currently a teacher for AVID —a college readiness program— and formerly a physical education teacher. Her contributions as both a teacher and role model for students throughout the years led her to become a teacher loved by many students, and the teacher who’s been at AGHS the longest.
Varvel began her teaching career in 1987, by completing her student teaching requirements as a P.E. teacher at AGHS. She became an official teacher in 1988. While teaching P.E., she also coached dance company, volleyball, and cheer. She taught P.E. for about 28 years before becoming an AVID teacher.
Back in 1988, P.E. classes were different for both teachers and students alike. Students chose their classes based on their grades, having an A meant having first choice, having a lower grade meant you would be assigned classes.
“Originally in P.E. you changed teachers every quarter. What ended up happening is, [students] would want a certain teacher and a certain sport,” Varvel said. “So I would get a whole new group of kids every quarter, a lot of times all new kids, so imagine how many kids I got to see in a year.”
A former P.E. student and aide for Varvel, Casey Davis (‘95), enjoyed having her as a teacher.
“She was always encouraging to all the kids,” Davis said. “Whether you were athletically inclined or not. She just wanted you to at least try.”
Being a P.E. teacher allowed Varvel to find the best ways to support her students. In the early 2000s, she began a fitness program to help students who struggled with their weight. The program received recognition from many local businesses including The Arroyo Grande Hospital, who provided her with a large grant to help provide needs for those students. Running Warehouse donated shoes for each of her students, and Talley Farms provided boxes of vegetables every day to the students so they could have healthier options to eat at home.
“It was really huge,” Varvel said. “That’s a very memorable moment [for me].”
Her switch from P.E. to AVID was in 2015 and an easy decision for her.
“The old AVID teacher used to have [a program where] an AVID student could invite a teacher to lunch, and every year I got invited because the AVID students liked me,” Varvel said. “He knew that I worked well with AVID students, so he asked me to be part of the program.”
Her transition was completely different from what she was used to.
“It was the first time I was in a classroom,” Varvel said. “I started off with [teaching AVID] just one period a day, but it was a really good change.”
Being a part of AVID for the past 10 years has allowed Varvel to be able to see the pride that both parents and students have after being accepted into a 4 year college.
“[Seeing] parents being so proud of their kids,” Varvel said. “Wearing their sweatshirt [of their college] and just never [thinking] that they would see their kids go to a four year is huge.”
Damien Ecarma (‘28) is currently in AVID and is Davis’s nephew. Though they’re graduating class is 33 years apart, they were both able to experience being Varvel’s student.
“She’s a very kind and understanding teacher and she’s always happy to help and talk to her students,” Ecarma said. “She’s very helpful and knowledgeable.”
Teaching both P.E. and AVID allowed her to experience what it’s like to be in completely different settings and see the way that students learn and change throughout the years.
“I don’t think [students] change that much in years,” Varvel said. “I think it’s just in blocks of time, and it really just depends on what’s going on in the world and new fashion or new trends. [Students now] have so much more to deal with than [past generations] have.”
This change has been mainly due to the rise of the internet, which Varvel describes as much more recent than we may believe it to be.
“[When I began teaching] there was nothing,” Varvel said. “No method of technology to communicate. When I was in college, there was no Internet, there were no computers. Everything was books and typewriters. It evolved, slowly there was some computer, but it took a long time. Cell phones […] computers and the internet are really not that old. But you can’t even imagine the world without all that stuff now.”
P.E. or AVID. Present and former. Ms. Edelbrock or Mrs. Varvel. Students of all kinds have been able to experience what it’s like to have not only a teacher but a role model and someone to help them out on their journeys, both physically and academically. Varvel’s contributions to AGHS will be forever cherished.
