Ben Lathrop, a National Board Certified Teacher, has been teaching at Harding High School since he and his family moved into the neighborhood in August 2008. At the time, he was married with one child and one cat and two jobs. In the ensuing years, he acquired five more children, several more cats (two of which currently reside at the Lathrop home), and several grey hairs, and has kept his second job as faculty adviser to the student newspaper at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. In May 2019, he was named one of five National Board Fellows for 2019-2020.

Mr. Lathrop is a graduate of Grove City College (B.A. in English with minors in Communication and Religion) and the University of Minnesota (Master of Eduacation). Naturally, he likes to read and discuss books, but he also enjoys playing the piano, writing songs, jamming, drinking coffee and tea, going to the theater, playing board games and card games, camping, fishing, hanging out with his wife, watching television and movies, studying and discussing theology, traveling, and hearing people's stories.

His favorite novels include The Idiot, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Brothers K, Gilead, and The Chosen.