New Teacher Roundup ’22-’23

Counselor for AVID students and students with surnames from Tay-Whe. Four years teaching high school science and 14 years counseling: three years counseling middle schoolers, 10 years counseling elementary schoolers, one year counseling high schoolers. “When I was a high school teacher, I really loved high school, I loved all of it. It was like my first grown-up job. Then, after so many ...

9th and 10th grade World History 1 and 2. Student taught World History 2 and AVID under Mr. Haze last year. Current first year as a teacher. “I love helping people and I love history, so teaching history was the perfect intersection of those two things.”  “Thursday. What makes Friday good begins on Thursday.” “I recently found a giant box of money with my face printed on it in the basement ...

Spanish 2, 3, 4. 4 years in Stanton High School teaching Spanish prior to teaching at Albemarle.  “In high school, I felt like I was good at helping my peers with homework. I later became a Spanish major in college when I started thinking about teaching. I actually came down to AHS as a college student to work with kids and I really liked it.” “Friday. It feels so nice to know tha...

12th grade Government. Taught Government and US History at AHS in 2019, then Civics at Journey Middle School before coming back to AHS to teach Government. "I decided to teach because I had a really hard time in school. In middle and high school I did not see the point of school. I just wasn’t interested in doing what people told me to do and doing it because that’s what I was supposed to do...

Athletic Director. 25 years teaching math, two years as Athletic Director at Monticello.  “When I was younger I played ‘school’ all the time and always was the teacher. I have always known that I wanted to go into education and when I was in high school I had amazing algebra one and two teachers which made me fall in love with math. I was also a swimmer and wanted to go to a school...

9th, 11th, and 12th grade English and Special Education. Began teaching career in Pasco County Virginia, then moved to 8th grade English at Louisa County Middle School, and then Monticello Highschool for 2 years teaching English and SPED.  “I think I always knew that I wanted to be a teacher. I admired the teachers I had growing up, especially in middle and high school. It just always felt ...

The “awesome” A-Base program supporting students who have autism grades 9-12. Seven years teaching after a 20-year business career. “I am a career switcher... when President Casteen, the former UVA president, said that ‘if kids don’t pass algebra, they don’t go on to have professional careers,’ in his farewell speech, I decided I could do something about that. Once I began work...

Algebra 1 and 2. 3 summers of teaching. "The job was introduced to me in July of 2022, it was very overwhelming at first. My plan was to make a change in the school while I still can. Seeing a young African American be a Math teacher can be inspiring to some kids. My biggest goal is to ensure change is happening." "Saturday or Sunday. I call it the money days. It’s the day(s) of the w...

Freshman P.E., P.E. 3 elective “Personal Fitness,” and freshman seminar teacher. 18 years of teaching: 15 years teaching middle and high school in Ohio, varsity girl’s basketball coach, 2 years at Mountainview Elementary School. “This is what I was born to do. I like the challenge of helping people who are trying to figure out their young adult lives and how that fits with what the...

Librarian. 21 years teaching at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, Maryland, and at Charlottesville Catholic School. “I’ve always loved books, and talking about them, so it comes to follow that I became a librarian.”  “Probably Sunday. For whatever reason, it’s my most chill day. I get the most downtime, and I seem to do more outside”. “I’ve jumped ou...

Algebra 1 and Geometry teacher for all grades. 18th year of teaching math. "I sort of got into it [teaching] by accident...I've always loved math, but I was actually trying to do a different job than teaching. I was trying to get into science and engineering, but I kept coming back to the fact that I need a very strong math base to do that, so I went back to school to do more math classes a...

School social worker for all students' mental health support. Around 15 years in education, including time in special education and as a Region Ten employee. "I've always loved school. I am a lifelong learner, so working in a school was something I was very much attracted to. I started as a teacher in special education and realized that I was falling in love with psychology and mental hea...

Psychology and Government with Juniors and Seniors. Has taught for 19 years after a 10-year career in business. "I came into teaching because it was a calling to me, and for satirical purposes, who wants to give up their summers? I really enjoy teaching and showing people how to do things. That was my favorite part of being in the business world, teaching and training new employees." "B...

ESOL 3 teacher and collaborator with Ecology and World History 2 for grades 9-12.  Teaching since 2007, starting with English at WAHS, becoming a stay-at-home mother, then a preschool teacher. Returned to high school as a teach assistant at MHS. "My grandmother wanted to be a teacher at a time when it was not proper for a married woman to work.  My grandfather was a teacher, and my gra...

11th grade US History, World History 1, and Freshmen Seminar. 13th year theaching. Previously at Wando High School, in Charleston, South Carolina. "Well, my parents were both teachers, so I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, we say. I’ve had really profound experiences growing up in Virginia, going to all these different historical sites. But above all, I’ve seen the relev...

Special Education teacher for biology and English 9 and 10 students. First year teaching. “I’ve worked with young people and students for many, many years. I worked at a boarding school for a number of years — I wasn’t a teacher, but I was a staff there — and I really loved that. That, and just being friends with students who struggled academically, and being able to help them, I thi...

English 10 honors and English 11 AA teacher. 2 years as a student teacher at Monticello High School, and a UVA graduate. "I wanted to become a teacher ever since I was young. I took different classes throughout college, but at the end of the day, I came back to teaching because that's the only thing I could see myself doing every day. I enjoy being able to work with children and being someon...

Ceramics This is my 23rd year of teaching. I taught Fine Arts at Charlottesville High School from 2009 to 2018. I’ve also taught at Walton Middle School, Red Hill Elementary, and [Community Lab School]." "I’ve always loved helping people, and from a young age, I knew I wanted to be a teacher. I’ve always been an artist, so it made the most sense to go to school to become an art teacher....

9-12 A-Base Program. First year as a teacher was the 2021-22 school year in Prince Edward county teaching third-grade special education.  “I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. I used to line my dolls and stuffed animals up in a little classroom in my bedroom and teach them. I even made little worksheets. Teaching is just something I always knew I wanted to do.” Friday “I li...

English 12 and Freshmen Seminar Teaching for five years. "I loved my teachers when I was in school, so when I was deciding what career path I wanted to do, after doing a lot of jobs through my 20s, I remembered back to my high school years and how much I liked them. I’ve also been a coach before, of cross country and track, and I knew I liked working with this age group of kids, and so then...

9th and 10th-grade Biology and Ecology. More than 20 years teaching experience at the University of Virginia, Western Albemarle High School, and Journey Middle School.  "Back at UVA I had grad students, and at first I didn’t have to teach too much. But eventually, I realized that if I really engaged and started actively teaching the kids, I got much better results from them. So I was a...

Freshman seminar and 10th/12th-grade language arts. First-year teaching. "The reason why I decided to become a teacher is that my mother was a teacher. I also really liked my content area, and I really like working with students. I love helping them get 'into' English and be able to improve in reading and writing."

Algebra 1 and Algebra 2/Trig, 9th-11th graders. 12th year teaching. "I wanted a job that was meaningful and that made me feel like I was making a difference." "Saturday." "I have visited 21 National Parks."

9th and 10th grade Geometry and Algebra 2/Trigonometry. 20 years teaching college with the University of Maine and Husson University as well as substitute and tutor experience for high schoolers. "Since I was little, in 6th grade, my teacher would ask me to come in early before school started and gather the students and help them with math. They thought I was good at math and could explain...

9th and 10th Grade Earth Science and Biology. 21 years at Riverheads High School. "As a kid, I went to overnight summer camp and eventually became a counselor and swim instructor. I enjoyed teaching at an early age and being outdoors so I decided that I should become a teacher." "Tuesday. I enjoy Taco Tuesdays." "I grew up in Buffalo… Go Bills!" ...

8th through 12th-grade Advanced Algebra II and Honors Algebra II/Trigonometry. First-year teaching. "I wanted to teach way back in the 7th grade because I really enjoyed math and tutoring my peers. I shifted away from that for a while but eventually landed back on it because I really love helping people understand new concepts." "My favorite day of the week is Thursday! I love feeling like it’s clos...

The teachers below did not get back to us in press time: Emily Uosseph, Jennifer Elliot, Brooke Hartsell.