A passion for math and teaching led Mr. Kyle Bell to begin an eight-year teaching career at Stony Point High School, before switching over to teach his first year at Westwood.

“It’s really refreshing when I say something and I know students are listening and they’re paying attention,” Mr. Bell said. “[Westwood students’] background skills [and] foundational math skills are so solid. And the administrative support from the [assistant principals], the associate principal, and the head principal has just been really awesome. So all of that has contributed [to] and reaffirmed my decision to switch over.”

Mr. Bell grew up getting his education from Round Rock Independent School District (RRISD) and graduated from McNeil High School in 2010. He’s noticed that the district is definitely a lot bigger now, among other changes.

“There definitely seems to be more of an embracement of technology. When I was a student, we were just starting to get upgrades. I had TI-83s, and we were starting to get TI-84s, and now we have much nicer calculators and all the classrooms have smart panels so they’re really embracing that technological development,” Mr. Bell said. “I had technology but it wasn’t as perfect [or] as much of an identity of me as it is for a lot of students now. I think the district’s done a really good job of adapting to that.”

In his free time, Mr. Bell enjoys running, watching football and soccer, reading, and doing puzzles. He is a dedicated fan of the Denver Broncos, which is evident in the bright orange Denver Broncos sign above his desk in his classroom.

“I’m pretty simple,” Mr. Bell said. “I like exercising and being fit, so running is primarily how I do that. I’m also just pretty goofy. I like Pokemon Go. I like sports, primarily the Broncos and Austin FC. You know, I like what I like, [and] I don’t have a whole bunch of different areas of my life that I delve into, but the things that I’m interested in, I’m really interested in and passionate about.”

According to Mr. Bell, making mistakes is the best opportunity to learn and grow, and the ideal mindset for a student is persistence and the understanding that things don’t necessarily happen perfectly the first time. He acknowledges that students having difficulties in Precalculus and Calculus is fairly common.

“Students will generally hit a wall at some point,” Mr. Bell said. “It’s always better to hit that wall in high school than it is to hit it in college because [in college] you’re paying thousands of dollars for it. Whenever you do hit that wall, just understand that it’s normal. I think students sometimes get into this idea that [challenges are] only happening to them and that there’s something wrong with them, but it’s completely normal for students to get to that point where they now are experiencing challenges. [Students should] utilize [their] teachers, make study groups with their friends, and just know that they’re not alone.”

As a junior, Mr. Bell helped the students around him in his pre-calculus class. Now that he is a teacher, he wants students to know that he is here to be on their side and help them conquer tough material.