Tweet

Most students at Bellwood-Antis High School know the teachers Miss Trostle and Mr. Partner. You may have had them for English or maybe you had Mr. Partner for driver’s ed.

Maybe you just know Mr. Partner because of his famous quote “Be good, be safe, make the right choices, and go Blue Devils!” You might even know Miss Trostle because of her sitting in the hallway every morning with her breakfast.

It’s no longer just the high school students that know these two unforgettable teachers. Miss Trostle and Mr. Partner are now both middle school English teachers.

When asked why they switched, Miss Trostle said that “I felt like I needed a change and a different challenge. I loved high school English, but I wanted to try something new,” and Mr. Partner answered with, “I have had fifteen years of teaching high school and I felt that half way through my career I needed a new challenge to re energize it. I wanted to step back and breathe while getting a fresh start this year.”

Miss Trostle and Mr. Partner both now teach eighth grade English. Miss Trostle also teaches eighth grade reading instead of ninth and tenth English and A.P. Lit like she taught in high school. She has taught at B-A for eight years and they have all been in the high school. Mr. Partner is also teaching seventh grade English along with his eighth grade classes. During his past years teaching at BAHS he taught junior English and taught tenth grade driver’s ed.

Mr. Partner has quickly become a well-known and favorite teacher at the Bellwood-Antis. He has only taught here for six years. Before he started at Bellwood-Antis he taught for ten years at West Branch. Miss Trostle said she “enjoys the different aspects of both levels, but I am enjoying the different challenges that come with teaching middle school.”

Miss Trostle said the biggest difference is the energy and expectations in the middle school. Mr. Partner said that he enjoys the middle school because of the content he is teaching. “It’s a lot of grammar and writing and I want to help create better writers.  I really enjoy it.  The middle school students seem very receptive to learning.”

Many students and teachers miss both Miss Trostle and Mr. Partner. High school science Mrs. Flarend said, “Miss T brought a lot of energy to the building so we do miss her, but I think she will do fantastic with the younger kids.” High school world cultures teacher Mr. Burch  said, “It’s weird not to see Mr. Partner in his classroom and not have him coach with me this year.”

Miss Trostle and Mr. Partner both seem to miss everyone in the high school as well. Miss Trostle said she misses the students, faculty, and administration, but she does like the grade that she is teaching now. Mr. Partner also said that he misses the staff and students in the high school.  “I’m going to miss the career college unit in spring and I am really going to miss the students coming to me in the high school.”

“I really like teaching the seventh and eighth grade because of the content that I am teaching, and because the kids are so respectful down here,” said Mr. Partner.

Both teachers were asked if they had to change their teaching methods and they both answered yes. “Because of the different state testing requirements and curriculum I had to change some of my instructional strategies, which was actually a nice part of switching grade levels,” said Miss Trostle. Mr. Partner said, “Yes, I had to change my teaching methods because in the middle school I can use the formative assessment boxes that I am really emphasizing down here. The district is pushing these boxes in grades K-12, and I think it is a great fit for the grammar and writing classes I am teaching.”

Miss Trostle said that the best part of teaching the middle school is “knowing that I am preparing the students for the challenges and positive changes that they will experience when they transition to the high school,” and she also said that the best part of high school was the material and books that she taught and that because they are older it was neat to watch them grow from tenth to twelfth grade students.

Mr. Partner has enjoyed the middle school students’ attitudes. “In general the students want to be here and they want to learn every day. I get to create fun intro activities and the kids enjoy doing them. They are willing to go out of their comfort zone and participate.”

I think we can all agree that, if you ever had Mr. Partner as a teacher, he has made an impact on you in some way and that is what he said was the best part of teaching high school. “The impact that you have on high school kids whenever they leave and after graduation when they contact you and say thank you. It’s something that I will really miss.”