Four Liberty High School teachers who were among the original staff when the school opened in 1999 are retiring next week.
The teachers are Rob Amble, Andy Hicks, Perry Ware, and Joan Swenson.
ROB AMBLE: Mr. Amble spent more than 33 years in the Kern High School District with time at Shafter High School, Highland High School, and Bakersfield High before coming to Liberty in 1999. He was named the first varsity baseball coach, building a successful program and winning a Valley Championship in 2005. Mr. Amble taught Special Needs students.
“I cherish my time at Liberty,” Mr. Amble said. “I’ve made lifelong friends, taught many memorable Special Needs students and was able to coach outstanding student athletes over the years. A lifetime of memories will follow me into retirement.”
Mr. Amble says his retirement plans are to travel, golf, work in his yard, and be an assistant baseball coach “...wherever my son ends up teaching/coaching in the KHSD.”
ANDY HICKS: Computer science teacher Andy Hicks has been teaching and coaching high school for 42 years, with a total of 39 years teaching. He started coaching basketball at his high school alma mater in 1983, Torrance High School, while attending UCLA. He joined the teaching staff at Torrance in 1986. Mr. Hicks and his wife Kari moved to Bakersfield in 1989, where he was hired as a 7th grade math teacher. He became Highland High School’s varsity basketball coach that October and by 1990 was a math teacher at Highland. He became part of the original staff at Stockdale High School in 1992 and was selected to serve as Liberty’s first math department chair in 1999. He was varsity basketball coach and took the Patriots to the Valley Championship in two consecutive seasons, with the teams becoming runner-up in 2009 and Valley Champions in 2010. Mr. Hicks left Liberty for a time to work as the district’s Math Resource teacher, returning to start the computer science program at LHS.
“I am so grateful that I finished out my career with Liberty’s talented students and dedicated staff,” Mr. Hicks said. “It has also been incredibly rewarding to jumpstart the computer science program at Liberty.”
He plans to travel with his wife and spend time with his children, their spouses, and three grandchildren.
PERRY WARE: Liberty’s theater teacher Perry Ware has been a teacher for 39 years, teaching at West High School from 1986-1999 and the last 25 years at Liberty. He directed, designed and produced more than 70 full-length shows and 30 Shakespearean ensemble pieces during his teaching career.
“The wonderful human beings I have worked with, students, staff and parents, all shaped me into the person I am today,” Mr. Ware said. “I would not trade these experiences with anyone. I am extremely grateful for the opportunities I have had to contribute to the school community, whether through theatre performances, theatre competitions, classroom instruction, extracurricular activities, or mentorship. The relationships I have built with students, parents, and fellow educators will always allow me to look back and say to myself that I have experienced a life well-lived.”
Mr. Ware returned to his roots this school year when his students performed The Nerd last semester.
“The Nerd was the first show I directed here at Liberty. I wanted, no, needed to end my career with an homage to that first show. So, in November we produced The Nerd once again.”
Mr. Ware and his wife will be moving to the Pacific Northwest. “Washington State calls us to experience the beauty and majesty of the Cascades and Columbia River. We are looking forward to a quiet, simple life in a small town.”
JOAN SWENSON: Joan Swenson was a teacher at Ridgeview High School for two years before moving to Liberty in 1999 and is retiring after 28 years in the KHSD. She was a freshman and sophomore English teacher at Liberty; she advised the locally and nationally award-winning student newspaper, The Revolution, until 2012. Before becoming a teacher, Ms. Swenson was a newspaper writer for The Bakersfield Californian for 18 years.
“The best part of being an English and journalism teacher was the chance to sit with students and help them become better writers,” Ms. Swenson said. “I was lucky I could do that, to see students realize that their ideas and their writing mattered. Those were the best moments.”
Ms. Swenson plans to visit the Central Coast often, work in her yard, and spend time with her husband, children and five grandchildren.