DePue’s John Beatty, science teacher and coach for over 30 years, has found right track in education

At two different points in his life, John Beatty nearly took a different path from teaching.

Both times, he chose the classroom.

Beatty started in engineering but realized it wasn’t for him.

“After half an internship, I decided it wasn’t something I was going to enjoy doing for a career, so I went back to what I thought I would like,” Beatty said. “It turned out I did like it.”

Beatty, who comes from a family of teachers, including his grandmother, father, sister and brother-in-law, later got an administrative degree but never pursued it because it would take him away from students.

For more than 30 years, Beatty has been a science teacher and coach.

He’s taught earth science, physics, chemistry, biology, physical science and general science and has coached cross country, track and field, wrestling and chess.

“I like the people aspect of the job,” Beatty said. “I really like the daily interaction with the students, pushing them to be the best they can be in the classroom as well as on the athletic field.”

Beatty’s career has taken him to a variety of schools. He taught for half a year at Rich Central before moving to Provisio West, which had more than 3,000 students at the time, for 16 years.

Beatty took a job at La Salle-Peru (1,200 students) in 2008 and coached cross country and girls track for 15 years.

Beatty will wrap up his career at DePue, a school of 100.

Seven years ago, Beatty said he had “gotten some bad information” and put in his retirement at L-P. So at the end of last school year, he was left 0.8 years shy of earning his pension.

Beatty, who is still the cross country coach at L-P, said it’s a big change working at a small school.

“It’s a whole different world,” Beatty said. “I’m the entire science department and also teach eighth grade science. I teach all the different subjects rather than just concentrating on one like at bigger schools.

“There’s a lot less materials to use, so I have to get creative with setting up labs.”

There are also fewer athletic facilities at DePue, which does not have a track or a coaching staff. Beatty was in a similar situation when he started at L-P as the school did not have a track at the time.

“We didn’t have much, but even what we had at L-P was well ahead of what we have at DePue because we don’t have any hallways that are usable for practice,” Beatty said. “There’s not a real weight room and no cardio room.

“I’ve had to become kind of a jack of all trades because I’m the only high school coach. But the middle school coach and I work together. We’ve merged the programs, which has worked out well.”

While the size and the facilities available are different from school to school, he said the students are “remarkably similar.”

“I’ve learned to be a little more patient and easygoing with the experience I’ve gained and kind of anticipate problems and head them off before they become a problem,” Beatty said about his teaching style. “I would describe myself as pretty laid back at this point, but I do like to keep the kids on task and not acting up.”

Beatty said he tries to teach his students to think for themselves.

“Critical thinking is a phrase that gets tossed around a lot, but it really is important,” Beatty said. “It’s not so important that they know every little scientific fact, but if they can apply the knowledge they have to new situations, that’s the more critical skill.”

Beatty has had a lot of success as a coach, including multiple regional titles and a team state appearance in cross country, a team sectional title in girls track, many individual state medalists and multiple Division I runners.

Beatty, who said he’s been fortunate to have “good people around me,” said he’s a hands-on coach.

“I think one of the things that has helped is I do the workouts with them,” Beatty said. “I’ve experienced a lot of things I coach. I know what they’re going through firsthand. I even taught myself how to pole vault so I can coach pole vaulters better. I think there’s something more you can give as a coach if you’ve actually done it yourself, rather than watching YouTube videos or reading it in a book. It’s beyond just the theory of it. You know how it feels, what it’s like and I can adapt better to what my athletes are telling me.”

Beatty will retire at the end of the school year, but won’t be entirely out of the profession as he plans to teach part-time at DePue and continue coaching cross country at L-P and “probably” will continue as DePue track coach.