by: Emma Helmick 

Students and staff at GS were met with a few unexpected changes after walking through the school doors this year. 

Many changes have been made throughout the high school for the 2024-2025 school year. Former high school English and creative writing teacher Ms. Alyssa Bewszka and former high school math teacher Mr. Scott Shirey were moved to teach at the middle school.   

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Ms. Bewszka’s old room number.

Photo by: Emma Helmick

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Former science teacher Mr. Angelo Testa left the district, but a teacher has been hired to replace him. Building substitute Mrs. Joan Zahorchak is filling in for his classes until the new teacher arrives. 

Unlike Mr. Testa, no one has been hired to replace Mr. Shirey or Ms. Bewszka. This resulted in Sports Stats and Creative Writing being cut as classes. 

“The middle school lost two teachers, they left,” High School Principal Mr. Adam Jones said. “So, they needed a math and an English position. They absorbed two from up here, so all of that trickled down to why you see those courses being cut.” 

Bewszka’s room was turned into a life skills classroom, while Shirey’s room is used by Dean of Students Mr. Jeff Kronewetrer during the afternoon for his Freshman Seminar classes. 

“I am very sad to hear the class is gone because I felt it gave many students an outlet to write freely and really express themselves,” Bewszka said. “Many of the students, if not all of the students in my Creative Writing class, really enjoyed what we did and enjoyed the class as a whole.” 

Both teachers received a phone call over the summer telling them that they would be teaching at the middle school. 

“I taught middle school before and didn’t enjoy it very much, but I thoroughly enjoyed teaching at the high school,” Shirey said. “I also wish I knew I was being moved before the school year ended so I could have said proper ‘goodbyes’ to the students I made connections with and enjoyed talking to, as well as my coworkers.” 

Sports Stats being removed left an open spot in Math teacher Mr. Jake Cole’s schedule, allowing him to take on the role of Shirey’s Math for the Trades class. 

Both teachers’ classes were dispersed through other teachers in both subjects. This causes core subjects to have more students. 

“I’ve noticed an increase with my class sizes this year, which is one of those things that they don’t realize when they move a teacher,” Mr. Cole said. 

This could make it harder for teachers to check in with each student, which could impact some ways students learn. 

“I think we lost two really great teachers who both brought joy into the classrooms,” junior Lorelai Leatherman said. “I never had Mr. Shirey, however he had lunch duty in my lunch last year, and he was always nice, welcoming, and made conversation with everyone. I did have Ms. B for creative writing last year, and she was one of my favorite teachers.”