While there are many staff changes this school year, the biggest is German teacher Ms. Judy Graunke’s departure from TCHS.
After almost 50 years of teaching, Ms. Graunke announced her retirement. As a result, German will no longer be offered as a foreign language after this year.
German 3 and 4 classes will be using Language Bird and Zoom, two online language programs, and will meet with virtual professors twice a week in small groups.
“Currently, I feel a little uneasy because I have known Frau for a long time, even before freshman year,” German 4 student Senior Nathan Lee said. “Many of my friends dropped German as a class because of the new curriculum, and having the class online. I’m skeptical, but I’m willing to give it a shot.”
Meanwhile, German 2 students are using Apex Learning, a different online language program, to complete their studies and get credit for the class.
Students who requested to be in German 1 for this school year were encouraged to speak with their counselors to consider other options, such as continuing German at Pasadena City College or pursuing another foreign language offered at the high school.
“It would be extremely difficult to replace somebody like Frau Graunke,” Assistant Principal Ms. Elena Li said. “The overall enrollment in German has continued to decline over the last few years.”
New AP Computer Science teacher Mr. Brian Chou and new AP Chinese teacher Mr. David Wu are supervising German class periods 2 and 3 respectively.
Principal Dr. Jennifer Lashier and Assistant Principals Mr. Richard Lohman and Ms. Elena Li are supervising period 0 German 3 and 4.
“As a new teacher, I have many goals,” Mr. Wu said. “One is to help my students really learn the Mandarin language and culture and another is to support the German students to do their best this school year.”
In the English department, the most recent change is former AP Language and Composition teacher Ms. Erica Dolter’s transfer to Gladstone High School, which is part of the Azusa Unified School District.
Administrators and English department chairs hired Mr. Taylor Hudson to take over Ms. Dolter’s AP Language and Composition and English 3 classes.
New English 2 and Humanities teacher Ms. Julia Lew and new English 1 teacher Ms. Jessica Wong joined the English Department at the beginning of the summer. They filled the vacancies created when former AP Language and Composition teacher Ms. Sarah Penalora became Athletic Director and AP Literature and Composition and Humanities teacher Ms. Vanessa Hadikusumah took a year off to serve the homeless.
Due to the lack of student enrollment in history, former U.S. History teacher Mr. Scott Sherman is currently teaching history for 8th graders at Oak Avenue Intermediate School.
Former Athletic Director Mr. Cary Smith has also returned to the counseling department, taking the place of Ms. Martinne Amato who transferred to Longden Elementary School to work there as a counselor.
TCHS School Newspaper