The Paw Print

By Charles Zimmer, Staff Photographer and Chief Digital Officer

Geoffery Dietrich is Walter Payton’s new computer science teacher and AP coordinator. Dietrich was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and attended Shaker Heights High School. He got a bachelor of science degree in economics and math from the University of Michigan, his teaching license from National Louis University, and a master of education degree from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education.

Dietrich started his teaching career at South Shore High School. He then worked at Chicago Vocational High School for seven years, and before he worked for Payton, he taught at Manley High School for five years where he also worked as an administrator for five more years.

At Walter Payton, he got a job as a computer science teacher and as the AP coordinator after the previous one, Dr. Ansari, left last school year. He also worked as a math teacher before he also started teaching computer science in 2020.

Dietrich is extremely passionate about childhood development: whenever he teaches, he always makes sure he is engaging with his students on a personal level, giving his students the opportunity to share their life experiences and helping them navigate their career paths so they can eventually become successful adults. He also highly prioritizes helping students who are struggling with their schoolwork, as well those who are struggling socially.

He is extremely passionate about computer science and technology and always enjoyed teaching it, ever since the subject became a required teaching subject in Illinois. He considers himself to be a life-long learner, even though he considers that term to be overused. When he interacts with others, he demonstrates his dedication to his craft and sharing his passion with the world.

Outside of the classroom, he has a three-year-old daughter and owns a dog rescue with his wife. He is also an avid fan of cricket, European soccer, and Formula One. The last interest he shared was his love for music, stating that he loves almost all things music related, starting with golden age hip-hop and eventually growing to enjoy vinyl and other music mediums.