### Lauren Fedorko
An avid reader and poet for most of her
life, Lauren Fedorko has taken the next step
in her literary journey by joining the PHS
English department this year. Fedorko, a
former teacher at Rutgers University and
North Hunterdon High School, will be
teaching AP Language and Composition,
English I, and English III at PHS, returning
to the PPS district after almost a decade.

Believing in the reciprocal nature of
teaching, Fedorko loves to learn from
her students through classroom activities.
She often incorporates aspects of history
and art into class activities and lessons,
encouraging her students to find unique
ways to interact with literature.

“One of my most successful moments
as an educator was getting all of my 85 AP
literature students last year to genuinely
love poetry. It got to the point where
they were begging me to have a poetry
festival at the end of the year. It was
just such a beautiful moment of student
empowerment,” Fedorko said.

With over a decade of teaching
experience, Fedoko has taught various
different classes in relation with the English
language arts. At Rutgers, she taught a
research course called Writing for Business
and Profession, while at North Hunterdon
she taught AP Literature and Composition,
Creative Writing, and Public Speaking.

“I decided to teach because I really love
poetry, and I feel like teaching literature
is like helping students learn about
becoming better people. They become
more experienced with the world,”
Fedorko said.

In her free time, Fedorko writes and
publishes her own poetry.

“I think poetry is the key to empathy.
I’m realy passionate about it and I think
it’s the key to being the best version of
ourselves,” Fedorko said.

### Sarah Manto
This fall, the PHS science department
welcomed Sarah Manto to teach Biology I
and Biology I Accelerated, as well Anatomy
and Physiology. Having just graduated
from Seton Hall University with a Bachelor
of Science in education this spring, Manto
is beginning her first year as a teacher at
PHS. While at Seton Hall, she completed
four years of student teaching in various
schools across the state, including in
Livingston and Maplewood.

“I’ve always really liked teaching. I’ve
been a tutor, [and] I’ve taught swimming
for a really long time. I just really enjoy
it. It’s a passion [of mine],” said Manto.
“I think to be a teacher you need to have
that drive and a calling. I truly enjoy the
process of seeing students succeed and
getting the lightbulb moment.”

In order to create a welcoming,
immersive classroom, Manto makes an
effort to customize each students’ learning
experience based on their strengths and
struggles, as well as their feedback.

“I listen to my students, I want to hear
their opinions ... about what were learning
and I change things based on how they
think the class is going and how they felt
[last] year went. In my class ... it’s about
correcting your mistakes and not just
moving on [to the next subject] so we do
a lot of activities to learn what we may
have done wrong on tests, assessments,
or labs and it’s always a continual process
of learning,” Manto said.

Since starting at PHS, Manto has
described the student and faculty
community at PHS as helpful, kind, and
considerate, noting the support she’s
received as she begins her first school year
as a full time teacher. She also stresses
PHS’s unique student body, underlining
the dedication and passion she sees in
her students.

Outside of the classroom, Manto enjoys
ice skating, spending time with her dog,
and swimming, which she hopes to coach
here at PHS as well.

### Robert Dutches
Robert Dutches, the newest addition to
the Princeton High School social studies
department, started working at PHS this
year. Dutches teaches three different
classes in the department: AP World
History, World History, and United States
History I.

Prior to joining PHS, Dutches taught
history for eight years in various schools.
He worked at Newark High School for five
years and then spent a year at American
History High School and another year
at Marion P. Thomas High School. Last
year, he worked at Roosevelt High School.
While Dutches has spent the majority
of his career teaching World History to
ninth grade students, he is working on
adapting his knowledge and experience to
be able to effectively teach an 11th grade
class instead. Dutches also has experience
teaching AP U.S. Government and Politics,
United States History II, and African
American Studies.

One of the reasons Dutches chose to
work at PHS was the strong community
that it offers and vigorous learning
environment.

“Not to disparage the places I [taught at],
but it just seems like the students are much
more involved, not just academically,
but in other areas as well. I thought it
would [be] really interesting to come to a
place [where] students just have so much
interest. It’s almost intimidating because
students are so proficient in so many
things,” Dutches said.

Not only does he find his students
interesting to teach, but he appreciates
what the school has to offer for teachers
as well.

“The culture of the administration is
much better. I’m coming from a place
where there was a lot of micromanagement
of teachers, and here the principal was
very much from the start saying I’m not
going to micromanage you. So I like the
autonomy, I [get],” Dutches said.

As a high school student, Dutches
found his ninth grade World History
teacher, who also ended up teaching his
AP Government class his senior year, very
inspiring. He appreciated what a good
teacher he had, and wanted to do the
same for other people. Dutches wanted
to do his part in increasing college access
in places that have traditionally not had
a lot of academic success. He saw the
education gap in Newark and wanted to
help. However, before starting his teaching
career, Dutches finished his education,
volunteered, and worked other jobs.

“As I was finishing my bachelor’s degree,
I did two terms of AmeriCorps service,
which is the domestic Peace Corps for a
couple of nonprofits. Then I went to grad
school for African American Studies and
became a paralegal for about three years,”
Dutches said.

However, Dutches knew from a young
age that he wanted to be a teacher, but
needed to take care of his son.

“When my son was born, I needed a job
where I could work during the night and
watch him during the day. [So], I worked
at UPS and became a training supervisor
there. Finally, I went back to school for
teaching and became a paralegal again
for about a year while I was getting my
teaching degree.”

Outside of school, Dutches takes care
of his two young sons. Although he does
not have much free time, Dutches enjoys
reading history books, watching movies
and shows, and writing. His favorite show
is “Breaking Bad.” As a self-proclaimed
“history buff,” he enjoys reading about
African American history, which he went
to graduate school for. 

Tower Spotlight: new teachers

After a 13-year career, Gary Harris, a janitor at PHS, will retire on June 30. He will leave a lasting impact on the students and teachers at PHS because of his efforts to go the extra mile for students, as well as to ensure that PHS recycles properly.
   Growing up in Newark, Harris began working part-time supervising young kids at a recreation center at the age of 16. As he got older, he took on a number of other jobs, such as working at a luggage company and as a crossing guard. The job which prepared him most for his time at PHS, though, was his job at a paper recycling company, where he learned the intricacies of recycling for over ten years.
   Harris prides himself in his job, beginning his shift at 2:30 p.m., a full hour before it is supposed to start, and ending it after 10:00 p.m., hours after his colleagues have finished. Part of the reason why he stays so long is that he meticulously sorts through the trash bags of other janitors to take out the recycling, a process that other janitors are unwilling to do. In fact, his boss sometimes has to make him leave the school so that he can go home. However, with his past work experience, he feels obligated to do this, despite the amount of time investment required.
   “I do the little things that other people won’t take the time to do… I take time out to do stuff like that. To me, it’s not a big deal. My boss will get mad because I stand there when it’s ten o’clock at night, and I’ll be in the main office or the library with a stack of about 1000 books. I stood in till the a.m. last year when [students] had to take the PSAT… I was tearing them out, pulling staples out, and separating the paper,” Harris said. 
   Throughout Harris’s time at PHS, one major problem he’s noticed is that the students and faculty are not recycling. To resolve this issue, he proposes a simple, yet clever solution to encourage recycling. 
   “We should really force people to recycle,” said Harris. “I can’t make everyone do this… but it would help. It would make it much easier for [the janitors] to recycle [properly]. But I can understand the simple fact that if you had a big garbage [bin] or a small blue one with a little hole, you’d naturally throw your garbage away in the big one. The main aim is [to have] the ones where you push the thing [that] swings back. Those would be perfect.”
   Leaving behind a legacy of love and kindness, Harris will miss the close relationships he has made during his rounds each night. Following his retirement, he hopes to be able to spend much more quality time with his grandkids and close family. He also wants to watch more sports, and a variety of movies including dramas, mysteries, and sci-fi. 
   “I’m not going to miss the job so much, but I am going to miss the people that I met here. I know almost every principal and every custodian here. I’m going to miss a lot of students because I remember when I first met them, and it makes me feel good to see [them]... going to high school… then college,” Harris said.
   Harris’s dedication and motivation to help others has left an impact on the PHS community and how it deals with different types of waste. Although many students may not know about Harris, his efforts to promote recycling have caused an increase in awareness throughout the school. 
   “PHS is relatively cleaner than most other schools,” said Sawyer Quallen ’24. “[There] is an abundance of recycling bins throughout the school and inside classrooms, making it more convenient to recycle. With limited resources on our planet and community, we should make a stronger effort to reuse and recycle. Our actions dictate our future, and how we choose to use our resources greatly affects it,” Quallen said.
   For the past 13 years, Harris has made close friends in the Princeton High School community, not only with staff, but also with students who he has met over the years. He also shows that it is the little things in life that make a difference in the world, such as recycling properly. Harris’s time working at PHS sets an example for hard work and being kind to others, even when it may require more time and effort.
   “I’m just one of the many custodians that work [at PHS],” said Harris. “[But] I try to do it the best I can.”


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