Staff Spotlight: Jordan Vanderveen Delights in Student Growth 

This post is part of the Lynden Schools Staff Spotlight series

Jordan Vanderveen has high expectations and lofty standards for his students. And he wants to be part of them achieving those realities. As a teacher at Lynden High School, Vanderveen is keenly aware that sparking curiosity in students now can lead to a natural desire in those students for greater understanding that helps them in life beyond high school. 

The Role

Vanderveen may be a teacher at Lynden High School, but he sees that role as so much more. “As I mostly work with seniors,” the class of 2002 LHS graduate says, “I have the privilege of helping students distill an educational gestalt that they will carry into their next adventures in life.” 

And since a “gestalt” can make an organized whole greater than the sum of its parts, he knows that by understanding his students’ thinking, he can help foster their growth. “My general teaching methodology is to trigger student inquiry,” he says. “By sparking curiosity and embracing cognitive dissonance, I leverage students’ natural desire for understanding.” 

With this strategy, Vanderveen hopes to develop a students’ ability to think deeply about issues, apply learning to varied situations and consider issues from multiple perspectives. This may happen in his classroom—currently he teaches AP Calculus, AP U.S. Government and Politics, Current World Problems, Algebra 1 (in Spanish) and Advanced Seminar (TAG)—or in the variety of avenues he serves in throughout the building. As a teacher, math department head, Knowledge Bowl coach, National Honor Society co-advisor and after-school tutoring supervisor, Vandeveen has ample opportunity to impact students on their academic journey. 

“I delight,” he says, “in student growth and achievement.” 

Getting to Know Jordan

As a Lynden graduate, Vanderveen says he takes pride in furthering the tradition of excellence at Lynden High School and that drives him in his work at the high school. When he’s not involved in one of his many facets of supporting students, Vanderveen invests his time in friends and family, prioritizing his summer to travel, play board games or simply enjoy the sun.