Last month, the eighth grade physical science teacher Mr. Herber left and in that same week, Mr. Gianino, the other eighth grade science teacher and the only chemistry teacher at PCS, left the school.  PCS was able to hire someone for Mr. Herber’s class–Mr. Hickok.  However, PCS has not yet found a new teacher for Mr. G’s class.

Many students who have been directly impacted now feel stressed and unsure about what the rest of the school year holds for themselves.  On the other hand, Mr. Nestlerode, the science department chair, has been very supportive of the students and has taken initiative over these past three weeks.  Seeing that many students were concerned about the situation, Mr. Fletcher responded with the following statement: “I appreciate that this is an important topic, as it directly affects your learning. I cannot share any specific information with you, as all employment information is both confidential and personal.  PCS seeks to attract and retain the highest quality teachers because we know that great teaching is the most important factor in helping students learn.  It is understandable that students are concerned about their level of learning for the remainder of the semester.  We are taking every step we can to ensure that students have access to learning this important curriculum.”  Even though students are anxious at the moment, Mr. Fletcher and Mr. Nestlerode are handling this situation well, and it is understandable that they are not sharing any information seeing this is a very sensitive subject.

Mr. G stated in an e-mail: “I think it’s important to discuss amongst the entire school. However, I do not want to share anything about my situation specifically.”  Mr. Herber’s situation is also confidential, but the eighth graders as well as the freshmen are less stressed because PCS was able to quickly hire Mr. Hickok.  According to the students in his class, Mr. Hickok is a nice teacher and the disruption in their learning has been minimized.  “We are looking for someone to take up Mr. G’s science eight class and chemistry, and we are hoping to have a fully staffed science department in January,” Mr. Nestlerode said.