Congratulations to Mrs. Press as she moves on to retire after teaching at JCHS. Here are some questions we had for Ms. Press regarding her career and retirement.
Did you have any jobs before teaching? If so, how did they compare?
“I began my teaching career as an alternate route teacher in Paterson, NJ. I taught Science, Chemistry, and Biology at East Side High School. If you’ve seen the movie “Lean on Me ” about the Principal, Joe Black, you know that it is one of the toughest inner city schools in the USA. I was initiated in the hardest way possible! After that, My alternate route professor at William Paterson College was the principal of Pequannock High School, and hired me out of the class of 25 students.
“I was literally thrown into teaching AP Biology after teaching only one crazy year in Paterson. My Principal went on to be a superintendent at Lenape Valley Regional High School. He offered me a position to go along with him, however, the drive was just too far away. Since I was looking to improve my finances, I decided to seek other employment and leave Pequannock anyway, so I came to West Caldwell.
“Before changing careers at age 40, I worked as a licensed registered pharmacist in a variety of pharmacy related jobs. But, I mostly worked in Community Pharmacy . I actually continued working part time as a pharmacist for the next ten years or so in the summers and on school holidays.”
What is a key memory from your teaching experience?
“I had a very funny thing happen in Paterson. I used a tent designed to project an image of the cell organelles on its ceiling as you sat inside. You could point to the various cell parts with flashlights that I provided. I thought it sounded fun, but when I took the students into the tent, they took the papers that I provided for them to fill out answerson, and crumpled them up in balls and threw them at me! It was a war.
“I also loved taking my students on field trips. We had wonderful days at the Bronx zoo. I would load up half the school population onto 6 buses and bring students there for the whole day. We also had incredible experiences at the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia, and then would head over to the Camden Aquarium for lunch.
“As an AP Biology teacher, when my students actually caused the bacteria to transform, I was amazed. Also, when the Gel electrophoresis experiments worked, I felt proud of my students.”
What will you miss the most?
“While It gets exhausting to make lesson plans, I absolutely love researching new things to teach my students. I feel fortunate to teach science because there are always new things happening and therefore I can keep learning about innovative subjects all of the time. There is nothing boring about teaching, everyday is different and that makes the job fun.
“Also, I can be very silly, as most of the kids who have had me as a teacher know and we can really have fun together. I absolutely love working with kids.”
What was your favorite class to teach?
“It has to be Anatomy and Physiology. I have always loved working in the health fields and I love teaching, so the two together made a perfect combination for me. Plus I loved grossing the students out and A & P allowed me to do that. Dissecting organs and showing pictures of gross anatomical diseases made me laugh as I horrified the kids!”
What has been your most impactful moment as being a Key Club advisor?
“We began a relationship with Crane’s Mill ten years ago where we advised the residents on technology issues. As the residents became more tech savvy, we morphed into playing games and other activities with them. We had bi-monthly visits for many years and now continue with monthly visits. Over the years we have performed plays, done magic shows, had dances, organized carnivals and just spent time chatting with residents.”
As Ms. Press moves on from her career, we wish her the best of luck and a happy retirement!
