This isn’t the first time math teacher Renee Kowalik has taught at Robinson High School. She originally came to Robinson in 2018, taught at a different school the next year and has now returned to teach at RHS and doesn’t expect to leave. She knew for sure that she wanted to be a math teacher in middle school, and later got her bachelor’s degree.

“I think it was in middle school…there was a kid… he had my math teacher and he was struggling so she asked me if I wanted to help him out with math and so that’s when I realized that I enjoyed doing that,” she said.

After, she bounced around schools in Hillsborough County before coming to Robinson.

“I went to USF and got my bachelor’s degree in math education and then I applied for my first job in Hillsborough County and I’ve moved around a lot, so I’ve been here in this county the whole time but I’ve worked at like five schools,” Kowalik said.

Kowalik really likes teaching and making sure that her students understand the subject. She’ll even go as far as helping the visual learners in class to make sure her students are up for success.

“I like watching kids get that ‘ah-ha’ moment like ‘oh it finally clicks’ and I like seeing how kids can grow from the beginning of the year to the end of the year,” Kowalik said. “Two things I focus on is one, making sure like the examples can make sense or be brought to life, and then the other thing is building a positive relationship.”

She enjoys the small community of Robinson, especially the diversity and how everyone can get along and just come together as human beings. Kowalik appreciates how Robinson is a small school and how it’s different from others.

“I like that it’s a small community and it’s so diverse but everyone still learns how to get along with each other,” Kowalik said.

As Kowalik teaches in class, she not only engages her kids, but she likes to make it fun so they enjoy it and want to be there to learn. She yearns for kids to like math and not think of it as a struggle. Kowalik would like for her kids to be excited to learn about math, and desires to see them grow as students and people.