Teacher Focus - Ms. Iest

Most students on this campus find physics to be intimidating. Students say it is “too much math” or “too much work”. However, after taking physics, most students change their prior opinions and realise physics is a genuinely fun class. A large part of why the class is so enjoyable is due to one teacher, Ms. Iest. She has been teaching for 26 years, and has taught a wide range of classes. She has taught agriculture science, earth science, Biology, 7th grade science, 8th grade AVID, Honors Biology, and of course Physics and AP Physics 1 for the last seven years. Ms. Iest loves science, but specifically Physics, and regrets not teaching it sooner.

Ms. Iest is a SoCal native, born in Fullerton and raised in Rancho. Currently living in Riverside, she has spent her entire life in the Inland Empire. Outside of school she enjoys reading, walking her dogs, snowboarding, and traveling not only around the country, but also around the world. She has extreme interest in animals and actually initially wanted to be a veterinarian. 

All of her students are blessed to know how charismatic Ms. Iest is. She is always looking to build bonds with her students and get to know them better. This is my second year having Ms. Iest and one of my favorite things about her teaching style is how interactive it is. We do lots of labs and through these labs I feel all of the students are able to understand and conceptualize the topics better. On top of this hands-on learning, Ms. Iest is always eager to help her students and answer any questions they have. She encourages trying and not being afraid of failure, which creates a supportive environment in her classes which allows for students to take risks and truly try their work. This teaching style helped her AP Physics 1 classes reach one of the highest AP pass rates at PHS last year. 

When asked about shifts and changes she has seen in students, Ms. Iest responded that she has noticed a large growth in students wanting to take on the challenge of AP Physics. Last year she had two periods of AP Physics 1 (the same goes for this year), and neither periods were full. However, she shares that this year both of her AP classes are packed and full of students engaged in the content and willing to challenge themselves!

A fun fact about Ms. Iest is that she actually set up her brother and best friend. While at a teacher meeting for JUSD at UCR, she met a girl named Kristen and instantly thought of her brother. After connecting the two together, they hit it off. They have enjoyed 19 years of marriage together!

Although AP Physics 1 is one of the hardest classes to take and one of the hardest AP classes to pass, at PHS it is actually one of the most successful. This is due to the experience and effort Ms. Iest puts into her classes. Last year was full of success, and this year there are hopes to top that passing rate.