Being new is one thing and returning is another. Teaching in another state, another city and a big difference in the number of students is what some teachers go through in their career. Learning at the same time students do and trying to get to know all of them so they listen to what is said is a challenge new teachers have.

Business teacher Mr. Bernard Cissell, is a new addition to the team of educators here at SHS. Cissell taught in Chicago for five years and the school he was at before he came to SHS was very small. The transition from a school with about 150 students to one with about 2,100 students was a challenge for Cissell.

“One thing I pride myself on is the fact that I like to get to know my students well because I get to understand what they need in terms of education,” Cissell said. “It’s hard to do that when there are so many students.”

Cissell says he graduated from SHS and it’s very different and exciting to be in the building again. Teachers have expectations of how students will be on the first day and how they act afterward he says.

“I expect students to know how to direct themselves, have a sense of wrong and right, and have integrity and values,” Cissell said.

He hopes that students learn valuable skills that can be incorporated into the real world. Cissell says he understands most students have trouble comprehending why so much information and content that won’t be used much or at all needs to be learned. He encourages students to focus and work hard in school to succeed in life.