This year, Westwood introduced twenty-six new teachers to the castle, among them are Spanish teacher Marco Hernandez and International Business and Entrepreneur teacher Casandra Stroy.
International Business and Entrepreneurship fall under the district’s CATE or CTE program. For newer Redhawks, CTE stands for Career and Technology Education.
This program offers hands-on learning experiences for students, which allows many of them to earn certificates upon graduation. The programs included at the castle are Cybersecurity, Business, Digital Arts and Design, Engineering, Health Science, Entrepreneurship, and Firefighting/EMS.
“Employers are really looking for students who have the newest technology skills, who have the hands-on experience that they need,” said Dr. Kandice Smith in a Richland 2 video about the districtwide program.
All teachers who come to teach for Westwood’s CTE program understand the need for students to have hands-on experience, but it doesn’t always come easily.
Casandra Stroy, who taught at a college for 20 years, finds the transition somewhat difficult but overall great.
“The most challenging, believe it or not, is permission. And I know there’s structure and things of that nature, so getting used to like students asking me to go to the restroom, I have to give them a pass.”
While still adjusting to the high school environment, Ms. Stroy mentioned that being around teenagers and children makes her happy, and it helps keep her inspired throughout her teaching career.
“Just being around y’all just tickles me, students, just being happy, greeting me, when they laugh at my corny jokes, when they ask me questions, I always get inspired.”
Marco Hernandez came to Westwood from Panama, which he had moved to from Venezuela in 2016. He smiles as he discusses his transition to the country and Westwood experience in thrilling ways.
“At the beginning, it was kind of difficult because of the culture…But so far, I am loving it because I decided to do the teaching practice my way.”
Throughout his career, Mr. Hernandez not only taught students, but he also taught teachers. He mentions how much easier it is to teach in the U.S because of access to resources. Before coming to the U.S, Mr. Hernandez spent days creating things out of whatever he had to make the school day more fun for his students.
“Here I have what I was expecting to have, access to resources, access to technology,” he says.
These special additions find that building relationships with students requires the type of attention and kindness that anyone would want for themselves. They bring grace, humor, excitement, creativity, and most importantly, an elite teaching experience to the castle.
Join Westwood in welcoming our new teachers and staff to the school community, bringing new perspectives, valuable experiences, and new energy to the campus.
Michael Jaiden Williams
