New Teacher Alert!!!

BY: GRACE S.

As I walked into room 174, I found shelves of yellowing novels, One Direction drifting through the speakers, and a once familiar area now decluttered. The writing prompt, “If you could have one magical power, what would it be and why?” was written on the whiteboard.

Miss Abigail Simmons was recently hired at West Jefferson High School as the new tenth grade English teacher. This is her first long-term teaching job. She will teach English 10, English 10 Honors, and Mythology. She is a self-proclaimed dog person.

Most teachers spend a large portion of their summer planning for the upcoming school year already knowing the courses they are going to teach. Simmons did not have that luxury.“I had an interview Monday morning, and I got a call Monday night, and I had to be at work on Wednesday,” said Simmons.

She graduated from Wilmington College in 2016 with a degree in English Education. Simmons attended Greenview High School, where her own teachers inspired her to want to teach. Simmons said she realized, “Oh, teachers could care about me. I want to be that for someone.”

Though she is licensed for 7-12th grade, Simmons specifically sought out teaching high schoolers. She said, “I decided I wanted to teach high school...when I realized I would only have to teach one subject and I could teach my favorite subject...Plus, I like older kids much better than younger kids.” She noted her sarcastic personality and how teenagers tend to understand her jokes more than elementary schoolers.

Her English classes are structured similarly to the other English classes in the school. Every day students read a book of their choosing and write a response in their journal to a funny prompt. Much of the class is student-led. Simmons said her teaching style is, “I’ll tell you something, and I’ll teach you how to do it, but I want to make sure you can apply it.” She likes this method because “that shows [her] who can do what and who needs to work on something.”

The next time you see her in the hallway, look out for her sophisticated style. Simmons received the award for 'best dressed' in high school. Because she excelled at schoolwork naturally, she could focus much of her attention on her fashion instead.

Like any sensible person, her favorite artists include One Direction and Taylor Swift. “London Boy” and “I Think He Knows” are tied for her favorite song from Taylor Swift’s new album, Lover. Her first concert was Nickelback.

One thing Simmons wants her students to understand about her is she realizes they have lives outside of school. “I would rather them have a good day than do well on an assignment. So, if they are having a really awful day, and they just need to sit there and they just need to process that, I’m okay with that,” said Simmons. “I don’t want high school to be something that you’re super stressed about.”