de Toledo High School welcomes new teachers to the community while preserving the culture we know and love.

As the 2016-2017 school year commenced, de Toledo High School welcomed sixteen new teachers, the largest addition of faculty members in its history. With the addition of new teachers and the departure of many faculty members who had been a part of the school since its beginning, some wonder whether de Toledo’s culture has changed as well.

Among these departures was Dr. Mendelson, who retired after the 2015-16 school year. Students remember him as the teacher who was able to explain anything to his students and help them understand the most difficult mathematical concepts, even geometric proofs. 

Students also said goodbye to Señora Fuentes, a mentor to so many students and a teacher who inspired her students to love Spanish language and culture.

Mrs. Bruner, an art teacher who encouraged students to forge their own paths and explore their creative side, departed from dTHS to pursue her dream of returning to school and becoming a veterinarian.

Although the community will never forget how valuable these teachers were and how impactful they were to their students, dTHS looks towards its future and the new additions to the school.   

Mr. Keer, 11th grade dean and head of the Arts Department, discussed the hiring process of the new teachers. “As department heads,” he said, “we interview people who seemed like a good fit, and who are interested in looking at the students in their uniqueness.”

This ability is a value that Mr. Keer considers a part of the dTHS culture, and an essential that teachers bring with them: “We did lose people who had that perspective but we are gaining people with it as well.”

Though students may feel uncomfortable around many new teachers, as Mr. Keer explained, the students will decide how the arrivals can best enhance their educational journeys.

“I do think it’s a challenge for students to see new faces and question ‘will they get us’ because students come in knowing the reputation of the teachers, and now, have no prior information as to what to expect. It’s a challenge for the 11th grade, for any grade, but it’s also a chance to shake things up and to start anew. It is up to the students to create their own ideas and connections.”

Mr. Hirsch, an addition to the de Toledo faculty this school year, as well as a former student of New Community Jewish High School, said that the influx of teachers need not change the school culture.

“Whether the school culture would change would have to do with how these faculty members are introduced to the school and how the administration and students convey the essence of the school to these new teachers. If the spirit and feelings among the students and administrators remain the same, then the feeling about the school culture among the students should not change,” he said.

That school culture is captured in the key phrases students are so used to hearing throughout their four years here: AP kindness, A+ human beings, and “circles of friends.” These values are the essence of the relationships between teachers and students, the way that students interact with one another, and the love that students feel for the community.

With these new additions to the school comes the introduction of new ideas and a new perspective on the way that things are done.

Mr. Keer, in reference to our new teachers, said, “it’s interesting to get a new perspective from people coming in with different life experiences, to change things in a way that won’t be a cultural shift, but rather an enhancement.”

These new teachers are already thriving in this school environment.

When asked about adapting to the school culture, Mrs. Golden, a new English teacher, said she was “impressed by how cozy, intimate, and warm the students felt towards the adults. I think it’s even more palpable here than it was at my previous school.”
“The way that students are able to walk into the faculty office to talk to the teachers – it’s just like a big family,” she said.