Throughout the long history of WS, one thing has remained the same. That is the Benton family, who has been at WS from the beginning and still calls this school a second home.
Robert Benton has taught math from 1973 to 2004 and now works part time. That’s 38 years of teaching. Before he was a teacher, he and three siblings attended WS as students.
“My wife went to WS and so did both her brothers, and all four of my kids have gone to WS. My sister-in-law, her mom went to WS,” said Robert, known to his friends as Robbie.
To add more Bentons to WS, Robert Benton’s son Matt married Emily Benton, another Spartan math teacher whom he met while subbing here.
Math seems to run in the Benton’s veins since most Bentons are math teachers. Jennifer Walker, another mathematics teacher at WS, happens to be Emily Benton’s cousin-in-law.
“There was one year were we all taught Algebra II Honors, and we were the only people teaching Algebra II Honors, so our team meetings were all family,” said Emily.
Since both Bentons work part-time they also share the same trailer room. But because they work on different days, they do not see each other as much as they have in the past.
“I unfortunately don’t see him that much this year but it was nice having lunch with him every day for many years,” said Emily.
And not only are the Bentons teachers, but they at one time were both coaches for WS. Robert coached Spartan Wrestling for 20 years and Softball for 27. Emily was a hurdle coach for the WS Track & Field team.
“That’s another thing you get involved with. In the community you know a lot of people,” said Robert.

Having family close by definitely has its benefits. The Math Department in a way functions as one big family, where everybody is either family or has been taught by Robert. The family relationship of the math department is definitely more unique than most.
“I love working with family. I feel like we agree on major issues with school. We are always sort of on the same page,” said Emily.
WS is a very important place for the Bentons, a place they have a very strong connection to. It is a place that hosts old memories for most family members and will possibly be the home to Robert’s grandchildren. The Benton chain could go on forever at WS.
“We all went to school here and our kids will go here. We care a lot about the school and want it to be the best,” said Walker.