With the start of a new school year at Rock Island High School, there were new adaptions made to the school! Many of those changes applied towards rules for students, but the most overlooked change was the addition of new teachers at the school!
Two of the new teachers at Rocky are Mr. Vogel (who teaches freshmen biology and chemistry), and Mr. Epperly (who teaches multiple math levels), who may be in a similar situation of starting a new school, but have two different points of view of starting this new journey.
To start off, both teachers came from very different schools before Rocky. Mr. Vogel, being more familiar in the Rock Island-Milan District, but not so much for Mr. Epperly. Mr. Vogel originally taught at Washington Jr. High School, which is down a couple of blocks away from the high school. As to why the sudden switch, he stated, “To try something new. I always wanted to teach high school, and when this opportunity arose, I couldn’t pass it up.” In contrast, Mr. Epperly stated, “Sherrard HS, prior to that I was a teacher at Wethersfield in Kewanee and Moline.” He also mentioned, “I felt it was the right time and the right move for me and my family. I have always enjoyed the districts that I have worked in, but I am a big believer that things happen for a reason. So when I received a call about an opportunity here at Rocky, I talked it over with my wife, and we decided that I would apply and see what happens. I am very pleased the decision made,” he explained to highlight his own reason as to why he made the move to Rocky.
Coming into a new school can cause all sorts of feelings. Especially since Rocky doesn’t exactly have the best reputation, both teachers showcase different thoughts about going into the transition of a new school. “Rocky is just like every other school, just on a larger scale. I think in the public, Rocky kind of gets a bad reputation. But when you see it first hand, it is not anything like you hear. Since my first day in orientation, I have been thoroughly impressed by how much Rock Island wants you to be successful,” Mr. Epperly expressed. Although Mr. Epperly was coming into the district with no connection or experience in it, Mr. Vogel’s story is very different in that point. “Already being in the district and knowing the students already, it was a very easy transition,” Mr. Vogel explained.
While the high school has currently wrapped up the first full month of school, there may be some things that can still be difficult to adjust to in a new setting. Mr. Vogel commented, “Learning all of the new systems that they have here at Rocky, pride time, grading–letter grades are very different from standard based grades!” as some of the things he’s still adjusting to at Rocky.
To add onto that, “I have become acquainted with most of everything that is going on at Rocky. I am still getting used to where some rooms are located, and some of the additional programs that we teachers have to do in addition to teaching. Names are the big thing, learning all the new names just takes some time,” Epperly added in.
Digging into the previous years, before coming to Rocky, both Mr. Vogel and Mr. Epperly taught in various subjects. “At WJHS, I taught 7th and 8th grade science, as well as publications,” Vogel stated (publications at Washington was like their journalism class). As for Mr. Epperly, “Math – AP Stats, AP Preclac, Precalc, Probability & Statistics, and Algebra 2. I have taught just about every single class offered in high school at some point in my career,” he highlighted.
When going into a new setting, it’s important to be able to feel comfortable and almost at home. Though having to adjust to a new and bigger environment, both Mr. Vogel and Mr. Epperly have had to also adjust to having a new classroom. Both teachers had very different ideas of the set up of their new classrooms. Mr. Epperly explained how he made his new room more personal. “ [Room 215]- I am a person that does not like a lot of posters and things in my room. I put up some college pennants and other sports team items, so my students know who I like, or where I have been,” he explained. As for Mr. Vogel, “I was given room 314. I didn’t do much in the classroom! I put a few posters up of my own. eEverything else was already here,” Vogel expressed.
All in all, when an opportunity is given, it’s important to take the risks and chances life gives. That’s exactly what both Mr. Vogel and Mr. Epperly did applying for a position at Rocky to do what they love to do. Even though, technically they are in the same situation of transitioning from one school to a very different school, they each had their own stories and points of view about this new step in a new journey.
