At the beginning of the second nine weeks, Mrs. Brandi Burger and Mrs. Heather Giammaria left to go on maternity leave. Burger will be gone for the remainder of the school year, and Giammaria is expected to return some time in March. Many students were concerned about what would happen during their absences. Fortunately, Freedom was able to hire two new substitutes for the remainder of the 2013-2014 school year.
Mr. David Turner, one of the new substitutes for the year, will be teaching Giammaria’s classes. He has experience teaching every grade level and typically teaches social studies or English. Though he has never substituted at Freedom before, he has worked at both Pine Richland and Fox Chapel.
“It’s pretty exciting to work with students in such creative ways since I’m teaching Creative Writing and Performing Arts, so I get to work with people in a really unique setting,” Turner said. He hopes, since the students are old enough to pick these electives, that he will have a successful school year.
Burger’s replacement is Mrs. Meghan Boland. Like Turner, this is her first job at Freedom.
“I haven’t had any teaching or substituting jobs, but I was a student teacher at Fort Cherry School District,” Boland said. “I taught 9th grade Biology and 12th grade Advanced Placement Biology.”
Boland is excited to be teaching at such a reputable school district with a hardworking group of students that seem willing to learn. “The other teachers and students have been really welcoming,” Boland said. “So far I give it two thumbs up!”
The students of Freedom are glad to welcome Turner and Boland into the school district.