From personal connections to the effects on students’ education, the impact that teachers leaving have on students is evident.
Whether that’s sitting with them at lunch or sharing educational conversations, the connection between a good teacher and their student is impactful on both sides of the relationship. Having a role model who doubles as their teacher can change how students see their high school experience.
“But also he spent a lot of individual time with like every student. Like teaching us how to like do stage combat and stuff in any of his free time. So, I don’t know. I think we’re all just really sad. We miss him a lot,” Fin Hubbard (‘28) said when talking about the theater department’s student teacher Michael Martin.
What each student considers a “good” teacher or staff member can vary. Whether you enjoy being around someone who can joke and laugh with them, someone who pushes them to work their hardest, or someone who’s just there to support.
“[Roys has] always brought laughter and joy to our athletic activities. We’ve always had a lot of fun with that. And, like, even we want. When we want to do something that is not necessarily okay to do, and he tells us we’re not supposed to do it, he still gives us reason, and he. He gives us an alternative, and he’s never made us not have fun when we have to go around, like, boundaries. And it made activities a lot more fun,” Olivia Judnich (‘26) said.
With staff leaving, finding connections with new teachers can be tricky. Navigating a new way of teaching, new person, and new class can be confusing for both teachers and students. So figuring out how to get along and create new relationships is critical to try and have a successful new school year.
“I think the impact of all of those pretty good solid teachers leaving at once is that the new teachers coming in have to realize that they’re not just going to be able to get in the swing of things really fast because they have to learn what works for our students instead of just doing what they think is best,” Gabi Frisbie (‘27) said.
