Father and Daughter Share A Calling — And A Hallway. Coffee Shop Arrives On Trailers.
Two Generations, One Hallway: Father and Daughter Team Up as Wilder Teachers
When fifth-grade teacher Mackenzie Passwaters needs to ask her father, Conan Schneider, a fourth-grade teacher, a question about classwork, she only has to go down the hall, two classrooms away. Both are now teachers at Wilder Elementary in Westerville, continuing a family tradition of education that spans generations.
Passwaters grew up at Annehurst Elementary, where her father taught for 26 years. She visited his classroom as a child, watching him guide third-graders through math and reading lessons, and listening to the stories he brought home about his students’ successes. Those experiences inspired her to pursue a career in education, imagining even then that she might one day share the same hallway with him.
That dream became reality this school year. Passwaters joined the district last year as a fifth-grade teacher at Wilder, while Schneider remained at Annehurst, a school he considered home. But when an opening appeared at Wilder, he made the rare decision to leave his longtime post so he could teach in the same building as his daughter.
“I loved Annehurst and I have a lot of great relationships there,” Schneider said. “I just thought this was a unique opportunity to teach in the same building as my kid, to see her develop and grow and to see her become the teacher she’ll be.”
The choice reflected more than convenience. In Schneider’s own family, teaching together has been a kind of inheritance. His aunt once worked in the same school as his grandmother, and their shared experience helped shape both careers. When Schneider asked her advice, she encouraged him to seize the chance, telling him she “wouldn’t change it for the world.”
That lineage underscores a broader Westerville tradition. Many of the district’s classrooms have long benefited from families who view teaching not just as a profession, but as a generational calling. Schneider and Passwaters now embody that link, extending the influence of teachers whose dedication helped define Westerville schools.
Their rooms are separated by a single classroom, close enough to hear each other’s voices through the wall. Schneider recalls seeing glimpses of his daughter’s potential when she worked as a long-term substitute at Annehurst, and now he can watch her growth daily.
For Passwaters, the presence of her father offers more than professional support. “We always tell kids that they have trusted adults in the school, and I’ll have that trusted adult for me,” she said. “He’s always been one of my trusted adults for everything, so having him here is really nice.”
Together, they now share not only lesson plans and classroom strategies, but also a connection that highlights how Westerville’s schools continue to be shaped by families who pass on their love of teaching from one generation to the next.
One Cube Of Coffee To Go
The modular sections of Biggby Coffee shop are moved into place in front of the Meijer store on Polaris Parkway in Westerville on Tuesday.
Four sections arrived on flatbed trailers and were placed on 8-foot-deep concrete pylons laid last week. Each piece was guided into place with overlapping steel beams at its base and a metal framework at the top.
It will be several weeks before the coffee shop opens after construction is complete and a new staff is hired and trained. The franchisee also has a Biggby Coffee shop on Hamilton Road and in Marysville, Lewis Center, and Hilliard.
The Westerville News is a reader-supported publication by Gary Gardiner, a lifelong journalist who believes hyper-local reporting is the future of news. This publication focuses exclusively on Westerville—its local news, influence on Central Ohio, and how surrounding areas shape the community.
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