“Rosie” returns to De Pere in a new role

Andrew Rosenbaum, otherwise known as “Rosie” to some of his students and football players, is De Pere High School’s new Alt Ed. history teacher, but there’s a lot more to him than just his profession. 

“When I was coaching football for Green Bay West, one of our athletes ended up being homeless, and my wife and I took him in,” he said. “And I really relished taking a kid off the streets and giving him a home. That’s what really inspired me to go back to school to start getting into this profession.”

Rosenbaum graduated from De Pere High School as a student 17 years ago, and he said, “The school feels the same to me just as it did in 2008.” 

Rosenbaum has been struck by all the familiar faces. 

“As I walk around the high school, I don’t notice a lot of really different things,” Rosenbaum stated. “Some of the staff have turned over, but I’d say about 50 percent of the staff are still here from when I was here.” 

Since they gave him a lot of support when he was a student here and continue to do so as he faces this new position, he believes it’s a great opportunity to be working with some of his former teachers.

 “If they’re still here 15-20 years later, and they were here even before I was here, it means De Pere is a great place to work.” Rosenbaum said. “I could see myself staying here for a very long time.”

In his time at De Pere High School, Rosenbaum was active in school sports such as football and wrestling.

“The support the teachers and my coaches gave was very helpful,” he said. 

Now, Rosenbaum is one of the assistant coaches for varsity football at De Pere because of his love for the game, and he enjoys passing his knowledge to the athletes. 

Not only does Rosenbaum coach football, but he also helps coach basketball at Denmark. He shared that his experience as a coach for both sports made him interested in a teaching position. 

“I struggled for a bit after high school, but I want to inspire (my students and athletes) to not go through the same trials and tribulations that I went through,” he said.   

When asked who his biggest inspiration was to become a teacher, Rosenbaum shared, “My former teachers, my football coaches, they were all big inspirations to me.”

As Rosenbaum enters his new career as a teacher, he says the highlight of becoming a teacher is the experience he gets every day.

“Seeing how they grow and develop,” he said. “Watching them achieve something they thought they couldn’t achieve is the greatest satisfaction.”

In his free time, he enjoys playing sports such as basketball and football, watching a variety of sports, and playing video games.