Bittersweet. That was the emotion that struck many of the hearts of the teachers who found out last Friday which high school they would be assigned for next year.
Honors and AP chemistry teacher Stacie Martin, who was assigned to Memorial, was among those relieved, but also emotional, about the news.
“There was a mixture of emotions,” Martin said. ”There was certainly relief there, there was also some sadness, because some of the colleagues I’ve worked with for a long time were placed at different campuses. But there was also that finality that Rider’s closing, it was just an emotion-filled day. The fact that we had to wait for the end of the day really ramped up the anxiety.”
For Spanish teacher Heidi Hakimi-Hood, who will be going to Legacy next year, the jump to the new schools is the next step for her career.
“I’ve had so many career changes in the past few that, to me, the new schools were just like the next step,” Hood said. “And I’m excited to establish new traditions and experience the nice new facilities, and not just stick with the old program, get something nice and new.”
While the new opportunities are certainly exciting, saying goodbye is never easy.
“Rider closing has felt real for a while, but we have a calendar, every day that goes by it’s coming, I mean that’s going to signify for all of us a big change,” Martin said. “For me, my Rider family has been a part of my family for 30 years, and that’s not going to be something easy to say goodbye to.”
And it’s not just goodbye to the students and buildings, but to many of their coworkers as well, that many have spent years or decades working together with. English teacher Jason Byas, who will be going to Memorial, is preparing for that change.
“It was certainly bittersweet to find out,” Byas said. “It’s exciting to find out where you’re going, but at the same time you also find out where those that you have been working with for so long are going, and that you may not get to be on the same campus anymore. I think we’ve all been kind of anticipating this for a really long time now, so it is a really big relief to know.”
One of the biggest shifts internally for those going to new schools is the new administrators they will be under, particularly for Rider staff going to Memorial.
“I think Memorial is going to be a great school,” Byas said. “There is a good team in place there, I am going to miss a lot of my fellow English staff here that I work with, most of which are going to Legacy, and Dr. (Cody) Blair and a lot of the administrations are going there as well, who I can’t say enough good things about, so I am a little nervous about not knowing the new leadership.
For many, such as math and engineering teacher William Rittenhouse, they were going to be happy as long as they went to one of the new high schools.
“I was pleased to find out I was going to Legacy, but I was really going to be pleased either way though,” Rittenhouse said. “I’m familiar with a lot of the staff going to Legacy and I’m happy to be with them, but there’s also other people going to Memorial I would have been happy to be with. I was pretty impartial honestly, I saw advantages to each.”
However, for Martin, there was a special opportunity that Memorial presented itself that no parent would want to pass up.
“I staked no preference, that I would do my best at either campus,” Martin said. “Am I glad I’m going to be with my daughter for her senior year? Absolutely. When you’re a parent and a teacher, you don’t get to do most of the elementary school things because you’re at school doing things for somebody else. So when they get to come to high school, it is really kind of cool, and I’ll get to be a teacher to my nephew, who will start at Memorial as a freshman next year, so that will be a nice family thing.”
Of course with new high schools comes brand new opportunities for teachers to expand their horizons.
“I was really happy to find out where I was going, because I get to teach not only Spanish but also English as a second language, and I’m just looking for a new adventure,” Hood said. “Legacy is where I really wanted to go, even though I would’ve been happy anywhere. It’s close to my doctor’s office, so when I have to visit the doctor it’s really convenient. And I really wanted to teach English as a second language and I know there will be a need for that there.”
Rittenhouse isn’t only saying goodbye to Rider, but to all of the three high schools he’s had the opportunity to teach at.
“It is sad that the longstanding traditions are being lost,” Rittenhouse said. “But it is also really exciting, because we get to have a fresh start and a new opportunity to make those things.”
While knowing their new campuses is certainly good news, there are still unknowns that can be intimidating for teachers.
“I’ve taught chemistry for over 25 years, that’s been my field, so I’m a little nervous about moving to a new campus without knowing the positions I’ll have,” Martin said. “I’m hoping my experience and performance will mean something, but of course there are other people that could have the qualifications to do so. It makes me nervous because if someone came up to me today and told me I was teaching biology, I would have to remember everything.”
While the remaining unknowns are still intimidating, knowing which school teachers will go to makes it easier for them to plan ahead for the not-too-distant future.
“At least we know where we’re going to be and we kind of know who is going to be there with us and around us,” Martin said. “It makes it easier for us to think forward, whereas before everything was kind of nebulous.”
