The self-described “oldest teacher in the building” is now retired from Waterloo High School, as math teacher Stephen Livengood stepped down after 22 years with the district. 

During his time with the district, Livengood said one of his main goals was to bring enthusiasm to the classroom.  

“I hope I was enthusiastic daily in bringing my students to a better understanding of geometry,” Livengood said. 

Livengood, who has a bachelor’s in math education and political science from the University of Illinois and a master’s from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, came to WHS as a math teacher after teaching for two years in the Hazelwood School District in Missouri. 

He was also the pastor of a church in that area that was looking to relocate near Waterloo. 

When that church decided not to move, Livengood decided to get a job at the school district he lived in. 

In addition to teaching math, Livengood also taught science for a couple years at WHS.

He was also active in extracurricular activities, coaching girls basketball for three years and serving as an assistant boys basketball coach for a few years. He and his wife also worked as coaches of Valmeyer High School’s girls basketball team for a year. 

For several years, Livengood sponsored the WHS chapter of the LifeSavers organization, which focused on topics like suicide prevention and promoting a healthier lifestyle for students. 

That includes exhorting students to not drink alcohol by holding events like a mock wreck to show the seriousness of drunk driving. 

“We did that to send a message about safety, particularly around prom,” Livengood said of that work. 

In his classroom, Livengood sought to bring innovative and fun approaches to a subject some students find dull.

For example, each year his geometry class would build mini-golf holes using blueprints a team of students designed. As part of the assignment, students would produce the path of the ball.

That project takes months to complete, so students even found ways to finish it this year despite school being closed. That meant Livengood’s garage had about 50 mini-golf holes in it at one point for him to grade. 

“I hope I was innovative with what I did with my class and trying to get students involved with what I was doing,” Livengood said. 

Much like his students, Livengood rose to the challenge of finishing out the school year remotely amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

“That turns your whole educational system upside down,” Livengood noted. “As far as teaching goes, it was fun to see how I was going to do this. It was a different learning experience for me.” 

In addition to that recent challenge, Livengood also worked extensively with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, which he said was the most difficult work of his career. 

“That was a very involved process,” he said. 

Another involved process played a major role in Livengood’s decision to retire this year. 

Illinois passed a new regulation governing teacher assessment a few years ago that Livengood described as “messy and time-consuming.”

Since he was old enough to retire, he decided to do that rather than complete the assessment process again. 

“I have not only a world of experience, but I’m good at what I do,” Livengood explained. “Maybe it’s pride on my part, but I think it’s a shame that you create a program that, in my view, I don’t see where it’s really making me a better teacher. You’re getting people who are leaving the system not because they’re bad teachers but because they’re exhausted.” 

Without having to worry about that exhaustion, Livengood said he was not sure about his retirement plans because he does not “know what (he) wants to be when (he) grows up.” 

He may tend his garden more, but Livengood said it was more likely that he would become more active in what he was doing before he started teaching. 

“I would not be at all surprised if I find a ministry opportunity connected to a church,” he said.