Aspen High School has welcomed a new character to the 2013/2014 staff who may have already read more books than you will in your entire life. Social Studies teacher David Fregly has a book collection of 5,000 books, and has read them all. As if that is not enough, he also has a collection of 1,000 rock n’ roll records.

Fregly is the new History teacher, and some say he is already one of the student’s favorite teachers. You may wonder how he so quickly became such a popular figure, but that question is soon answered when you hear how he started his class on the first day.

Fregly’s first words to the students were, “In my mind I can excuse when a student is gone on a great ski day,” This immediately grabbed students’ attention, including sophomore Jonathan Wells.

“The fact that he understands skiing in Aspen makes me respect him so much. I can already tell that he is going to be an inspiring model for me,” Wells said after his first day of class with Fregly.

Much of Fregly’s inspiration comes from his schooling. He attended University of Pittsburg where he studied history and political science, following that Binghamton University, where he studied history. He got his masters in Social Studies education at Ithaca College.   After his education, he went on to become a teacher at Wokens Glen High School in New York. He has been an educator for three years. After Wokens Glen High School, Fregly joined our community at Aspen High School.

“I moved to Aspen seeking an adventure, a change of scenery, and a new place to start over…the skiing isn’t half bad either,” Fregly said. “The kids here have a much deeper background into history and the level of respect is a lot higher…no humidity is also fantastic.”

Fregly not only spends time with kids at school, but also at home. He is married and has a 6-month-old baby. Fregly’s passion for history goes beyond the classroom with his collection of 1000 rock’n roll records. David’s personal love for history defines his teaching philosophy.

“I want to keep history relevant to students in the present day and want to make it something that is accessible,” Fregly said.

With his passion for history and for teaching, his vibrant energy has rubbed off on the kids, already inspiring his students to be great historians.

When describing Fregly Jonathan Wells said, “before, I dreaded going to history, but now, with Fregly it is one of my most anticipated classes.”

Engaging the students is one of Fregly’s many goals. He wants kids to look-up to him through a stable learning environment.

“Making history accessible, being fair in my classroom and keeping everyone equal is how I gain respect from my students,” Fregly said.

Fregly is off to a great start at Aspen High. It is not only his enthusiasm for teaching that has made Fregly popular but also his understanding of the Aspen idea.

Fregly might be the newest member to the Aspen High School faculty but it seems he already has a strong grasp of Aspen’s history of following “the six inch rule.” With this understanding, maybe Mr. Fregly should be in charge of calling snow days.