Every year, Lancaster High School welcomes new staff members and this year is no exception. Several new teachers, especially, have come with a lot of experience and some are experiencing their first teaching job right out of college. Eye of the Gale spoke with a few teachers to get their take on what it is like to teach at LHS. 

LHS science teacher Megan Terry, who has previous teaching experience, said that so far, her new journey has been positive.

“My teaching experience so far at LHS has been a smooth transition. The staff is very helpful and I have access to the technology and resources to provide the best teaching and learning experiences I can for my students,” said Terry.

LHS Financial Literacy teacher Jim Day, a veteran teacher, said that for him, being able to have a more consistent teaching schedule is important.

“It’s been very pleasant. It’s been much better than I anticipated. I really like teaching one class.  At my previous job, I taught six different classes throughout the day, so I had six different things I had to prepare for,” said Day. 

“As far as teaching, I taught at Miller High School for a year, then I taught at Cedarville High School for a year, then I was at Liberty Union for thirteen years. Before teaching, I was a business manager for about fifteen years in tire stores. So that’s what I did after I got out of college, so this is my second career,” said Day. 

While both Terry and Day have a lot of teaching experience, new LHS math teacher Aaron Kennelly is just beginning his first position in his teaching career.

“So far my teaching experience has been pretty positive. A little bit of me just kinda figuring out what I’m doing, and learning the technology has probably been my biggest challenge. I’m really enjoying getting to know the kids,” said Kennelly. 

Kennelly said that he really wanted to teach at LHS.

“I’ve heard good things about this school. I heard it’s a good school, also just the timing of it. When it became available at the time, I was looking . . . trying to get a job,” he said. 

All three teachers shared the goal of knowing more about the students and seeing growth throughout the year. 

“I look forward to getting involved with things outside of the classroom throughout the school year. Since I came from a very small district I am happy to see all of the extra things offered for students at LHS. I also look forward to getting to know the students and staff much better by attending sporting, music, and other extracurricular events,” said Terry. 

“My goal was to get back into the classroom and I wanted to come work at LHS because Lancaster City Schools is a wonderful district with a fantastic staff and amazing students.  I also love the convenience because it is close to where I live and I love coming to Lancaster,” Terry added.

“Fifteen years ago, I did a two-week field experience here. I lived here, I had that field experience, my kids went all the way through kindergarten to high school here, so it was a natural desire to be here,” said Day.

The following list is all the new LHS staff for 2024-2025:

Vince Albertini

John Appleton

Arlene Colvin

Kayla Hittle

Sarah Hughes

Darrick Jackson

Ellie Jones

Cameron Sagstetter

Lauren Scheetz

Janis Smeltzer

Allyson Taley

Brandon Thomas