Falls Church High School has been great to our teachers, students, and staff.  In fact, because of the supportive atmosphere here among Jag Nation, some of our teachers have been teaching here since before we were born!  I spoke to some of the teachers who have been teaching for the longest at Falls Church to get their perspective on what they’ve seen over the years and what keeps them coming back with energy and enthusiasm every year.

Math teacher Mr. Roller has been here for a long time had a few comments as I asked him a couple of questions. Mr. Roller said he’s been teaching here for 23 years. I asked him why has he been teaching here for so long and he said “the staff is really nice and cool, it’s also a really nice school.”

English teacher Ms. Napoliello has had a long run so far too, as she’s been teaching here for 19 years, but had a different feeling about what has kept her as a member of the faculty for so long. “I really love the students,” she said when I asked what has pushed her to teach here for so long.

In the history department, Ms. Jones has been working at Falls Church for 19 years. Ms. Jones said, “The Falls Church students are great and have good attitude.” Ms. Jones also had a one-year tenure at a different school in Fairfax County, so I asked her to compare this school to Falls Church, and what it was about our school that brought her back: “Falls Church has a family feel that I missed. The students were great there, but I missed the history department teachers here.”

Ms. Johnson, who works for the science department, has been working here for 15 years. Ms. Johnson said, “This school quickly became my second home.  I love the family feel and community feel with this building.”

Ms. Marcos, who works with the world language department, has been with Falls Church for 10 years. Her take was, “I have loved working with our enthusiastic students and working with so many great colleagues.” We should really appreciate these teachers for being loyal to Falls Church and doing this job for us. Having that type of longevity and not losing a step in your teaching or desire is really remarkable and should be applauded.

These teachers really touched on why Falls Church is what it is: the great staff and the students who attend. The students have a huge impact on teachers just like teachers have on students. Every year they teach at Falls Church has been their choice, and they wouldn’t have stayed on as long as they have if they didn’t truly love teaching at this school.