New teachers swing open those VHHS doors
A major change to VHHS this year is the 18 new teachers stepping through its doors.
According to the Principal of VHHS, Dr. Guillaume, we have a lot more teachers for several reasons.
“We had this perfect storm of all teachers leaving, retiring, then [students] growing and all of the sudden we had 18 new teachers,” Dr. Guillaume said. “As long as these kids keep coming, we will be hiring new teachers.”
Most students at VHHS understand that there are a lot of new students this year, with this year being the highest recorded enrollment. With so many students and 3 teachers moving and 4 retiring according to Assistant Principal for Curriculum and Instruction, Mr. O’Brien, it’s expected that some new teachers would be hired.
The department with the most is science, with five new teachers. Science Department Supervisor Mr. Prosise said before he started working at VHHS, there was a similar wave of new teachers; he, however, hasn’t experienced anything like this.
“It’s something new because we aren’t use to it, but at the same time it’s exciting because we’ve found great people that are perfect for their spots and they gel together with the department in a really fantastic way,” Prosise said.
One new teacher who feels like she gels together with VHHS, Ms. Ciura, is a member of the math department and has taught math for five years. Ciura is excited to be back teaching around where she grew up, as she last taught at a similar school in Wisconsin.
“I feel like I fit right in. I’m from the area, I grew up in Palatine, so I like it a lot,” Ciura said. “The people are great, the kids are great… everything’s gone really well for me.”
Ms. Mercil, a new teacher in the Social Studies Department, agreed with Ms. Ciura’s opinion, as VHHS is very different from her old school.
“The staff members are super friendly, the students are super polite and welcoming, and overall the school spirit and the vibe of a four year high school has been a great experience because the school I use to work at was a junior and senior only school,” Mercil said.
As teachers gain new experiences with students at VHHS, students gain new experiences with these teachers. Sean Oehrlein (10) has two new teachers: Ms. Hoffman and Ms. Ciura.
“They seem to have a lot of fun here and they like the kids a lot. I mean, who wouldn’t?” Oehrlein said.