Conrad Cuda and Jackson Kroopf ’06 joined the Upper School History and Art Departments, respectively, mid-year.

Cuda, an upper school football coach, previously taught at John Adams Middle School and Santa Monica High School for 15 years.

Cuda said that he appreciates the intimate relationships between the students and teachers, especially in comparison to his previous schools, which had a larger student body.

“There are times when I go home and I say to my wife, ‘I feel like I’m on Mars,’” Cuda said. “[This school] is just a different world. It’s a great one but it certainly is different. I don’t have anything but positive and good things to say about this whole opportunity and this place.”

Kroopf returned to the Upper School to teach video art in his class, Cross Cultural Engagement.

“It’s been interesting meeting the new generation of Harvard-Westlake students and meeting people from different backgrounds,” Kroopf said. “I have noticed a lot of interest in learning about other cultures, places and issues of social justice which are what I make films about.”

Before arriving on campus to teach, Kroopf taught at UC Santa Cruz. He also has experience teaching in Oakland, Calif. and New York.
Kroopf currently teaches part-time. Outside of school, he is a freelance filmmaker and works on commercials.