• I am a physics and chemistry teacher, and, even more unique than that, I'm happily married to the guy next door, Mr. McDevitt!  (This makes more sense when we are in the school building... Mr. McDevitt and I have classrooms next door to each other.) 

    I have the best job in the world: teaching teens science! 

    Being a graduate of West Linn High School back in the day has its advantages... I have a really old (and ugly) WLHS official letterman's jacket, and of course more importantly, I've been taught by the best of the best!  Prior to becoming a teacher twenty-seven years ago, I had many odd jobs (from flipping pizzas at West Linn Round Table to cleaning everything at WL's Fit For Life).  One of my more interesting jobs was working for Hasbro Toys in Rhode Island (one of the world's largest toy manufacturers).  I worked in their Chemistry Laboratory where I was responsible for testing toys for heavy metal content (lead, mercury, and arsenic among others), and I helped the research and development department with new and improved products such as creating new "Play-Doh" colors and dough types (glitter, cookie dough, etc.).  It was there at Hasbro, after much prayer, that the idea of becoming a teacher was born!  My husband and I quit work, packed up our house, and moved back to Oregon from Rhode Island (another story for another day) so that we could become teachers!  (And, live in the best state in the nation!)

    My teaching career began back in 1995 at Sam Barlow High School, and I was blessed with a teaching job at West Linn High School two years later.   I have always loved teaching, from day one, and I look forward to each and every day!  

    This year, I have the privilege of teaching three AP Physics 1 classes, and two Physics classes.   I have mostly junior and senior year students, and I truly look forward to spending my day with them!  Each person has so much to offer, and I miss a student when he/she is absent!

    If you're a parent reading this, thank you in advance for your help!  In my past 26 years of teaching, I have learned that experiencing a successful school year with each child is due to a team effort.  I think of it as "Team Encouragement," consisting of you, your child, and I.

    My goal as a teacher is simply to follow Proverbs 22:6 which says: "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."  

      
     
    Email messages are checked at the end of the day. I will get back to you as soon as I am able.  Thanks! 
      ~Julie McDevitt