News Where are they now: \'94 WHS alum Walthart now a principal in Muscatine

     Brian Walthart said he had “phenomenal” teachers throughout his years in the Vinton-Shellsburg  School district.

     "I can remember each and every one of them from kindergarten all the way through high school. If I had to name one who I really felt brought the best out in me, it would be Mr. Holmes. I did not realize it at the time but as I think back to my classes with him, I can attribute a lot of what it means to be an outstanding teacher to him,” Walthart, a 1994 graduate of Washington High School, told Vinton Today.

   But, he adds, he did not even begin to think about a career in education until he went to college and found a great job working for one of Iowa’s legends: Iowa Hawkeye Basketball Coach Dr. Tom Davis. Walthart was a student manager with the men’s basketball team from 1995 through 1997, and then the Head Student Manager during the 1997-1998 season.

     The student managers help the U of I basketball program in many ways, from shagging rebounds in practice to helping the training staff plan team travels to working on the videotaping and video editing. They also direct summer basketball camps and whatever else a coach asks.

     “I would be lying if I said that I knew that I always wanted to be an educator.  It became apparent in college, working with the University of Iowa Men’s Basketball Team, and in turn working with young people at camps, and then getting into coaching, that this was something that I wanted to do with my life,” he said.

     Walthart was involved in sports and band throughout his high school career. He was one of the band’s two recipients of the John Philip Sousa Award in 1994.

     After graduating from the University of Iowa, Walthart became a teacher and administrator, working six years in West Branch and five years in Iowa City. Last year, he was an assistant principal at Weber Elementary in Iowa City. The MuscatineSchool District hired him to be the principal at its Washington Elementary School in the spring of 2010.

    Mr. Walthart shared a few of his core beliefs as an educator:

     “Accountability is at an all-time high and has been headed in that direction for some time,” he said. “I think that student achievement and teacher accountability are very important. However, I also feel that there still needs to be a balance in students’ and professionals’ lives.  Student and teacher success should not be based on one single test score. We need to value the whole child and everything that goes into that from kindergarten all the way through high school. Therein lies the biggest challenge, which is how to do all of that ‘stuff’ and still get everything done that needs to be done.”

       Walthart and his wife, Laura, have been married for 10 years. They have a son, Jackson, who is eight, and a daughter, Megan, who is five. Walthart’s parents, Becky and Duane Walthart, still live and farm the family farm near Vinton, where Brian grew up. He also has a sister, Natalie, who lives in St. Louis.

     “Vinton will always have a special place in my heart,” he said. “I know that it has changed since I moved away 16 years ago, but it is still a place that I love to bring my family with me to visit. The small-town feel that has always been here is something that I will always cherish.”