PHS draws teachers from all over

by Andrew Schultz

For some teachers, like Mr. Clark, Mr. Hoover, and Ms. Burkhart, this is their first teaching job. But for other teachers they have other schools and experiences to draw from, like Mr. Hodos, Mr. Bulgrien, and Mrs. Barrett (just to name a few).

Mr. Hodos has been coaching at Pittsford for the past 10 years, but just started teaching here this year. Mr. Hodos was a natural fit for PHS. “Basically, my kids are here, I’ve coached here for the last 10 years and I graduated from here; I live a mile from the school so that makes a big difference,” said Mr. Hodos. “I get to see my kids every day.” It seems that Mr. Hodos has been in the Pittsford area for a long time but there is always a learning curve, which was made easier by the mentors here. “ I would have to say the older teachers are better,” commented Mr. Hodos.

Mr.Bulgrien started here at Pittsford a day before school started last year. He currently teaches English 11, English 12, and speech/drama. Mr. Bulgrien originally taught at Litchfield, working there for five years in the subjects of English 8-12 grade. Mr. Bulgrien likes that he can focus on teaching here, rather than lots of other things like he was asked to at Litchfield. “I don’t have to police the hallways. I can come and teach English like I was hired to do,” said Mr. Bulgrien. The reason he moved from Litchfield High School is that he really doesn’t think that it will be there very long so he needed a stable job to support his family.

Mrs.Barrett decided to take the job at Pittsford two weeks before school started this year, and she is teaching the special education classes. Mrs.Barrett came from Wapakoneta High School in Ohio and Madison High School in Adrian, MI. As a PHS alum, Mrs. Barrett had a familiarity with the staff. “Knowing a lot of the faculty, having them before made me feel very welcome. Growing up here, I graduated from here, I know the school so it’s been an easy transition,” explained Mrs. Barrett. The benefits of teaching here were multiple to her. “I wanted to move back to Pittsford to raise my family here and think it’s a great school and community.”