The beloved child development and culinary teacher at the high school, Ms. Samantha Schwartz, has had a major impact on the lives of her students. After obtaining a degree in Family Consumer Science, Schwartz began teaching at West Milford High School nine years ago. Being a teacher runs in the family; both her mom and sister are teachers. When she was interviewed at West Milford, Schwartz said “it feels like home here” and she “knew I wanted to work in this district”. With her husband Mr. Ryerson, Macopin’s favorite guidance counselor, the couple welcomed a baby girl named Stella in June. Having a baby has made Schwartz connect to her students on an even deeper, motherly level than ever before. She teaches child development, which involves teaching students about pregnancy, how to care for a baby, people’s genetic makeup, and everything needed to know about child development.
Schwartz is a preschool teacher of the class called Internship to Tomorrow’s Teachers, where she selects seniors from her previous child development classes to be the teachers of the Highlander Fawns. This course offers students 10 honors credits and 3 credits from Ryder University, and is meant to show the applicants if they want to be in the teaching profession, or if they should steer clear. Schwartz does an outstanding job monitoring her students and preschoolers, while also teaching skills many in the school subjects such as English, math, science, music and art. The student teachers are in charge of communicating with their one-on-one student’s parents. Schwartz oversees the lesson plans, themes of the week, bulletin boards, and the other events that take place during the school year.
Everyone who meets Schwartz wants to be her friend, due to her loving, caring, and relatable sarcastic personality. One of her students, Josie Ugliono says, “She is one of the kindest and most genuine humans I know. She is not just an amazing teacher, but she is also an amazing person inside and out.” Another student, Sophie Stoft, says Schwartz, “Is very passionate about her subject and caring with an open ear.” Kasey Orlowski stated, “ she is such a great teacher and people love her. You will never walk into her class and dread being there. She impacts the lives of everyone around her, making her students feel safe and at home in her classroom.” Having Ms. Schwartz as a teacher is an opportunity that any student should take, because she will change your life for the better.