Eagle Era

By Anthony Liu

With the start of a new school year, AHS welcomes many fresh faces, and it’s not just students who feel the jitters—teachers do, too. 

Teacher Deblonk, a first-year teacher, shared what it’s like stepping into a much larger school than they’ve known before: “Compared to the 400 students from my previous school, the 2,700 at American is certainly a very different experience.” They noticed, though, that the students here are more driven. They said, “As a whole, and I’m teaching College Prep classes, not APs or honors, the students are all pretty dedicated to doing well in the class.”

Teacher Deblonk has noticed just how passionate and detail-oriented students can be, even over small things, “disputing over a one-point difference when your grade is already a 97.” The dedication of students is obvious, and it’s something Deblonk appreciates, albeit something they are still slowly getting used to.

Teaching English to freshmen and juniors, Teacher Deblonk emphasized the skills they hope students will take away. “I want them to be able to take the skills that I give them, read The Great Gatsby,watch their favorite TV show, and be able to break down the elements, analyzing it to learn how to write effectively in order to express themselves on things that they are passionate about.”  

Mrs. Fronda started the year by learning about her students through a creative project, where each poster highlighted the pieces of their identity that matter most to them (Photo Credit: Anthony Liu (12)).

“We’re doing a poetry unit, and we were talking earlier in the unit about the very blurry line between a poem and a song,” Teacher Deblonk said. “Students can bring their own experiences into this work.” It’s clear that Teacher Deblonk wants students to take what they learn and make it meaningful in their own world. 

This focus on student engagement and meaningful learning is something that also drew Mrs. Fronda to AHS. A second-year English teacher, her decision to move to AHS came after a conversation with a colleague. “What really changed my mind was when I was talking with a friend who worked nearby, and he told me how motivated the students are and how well the staff supported him as he transitioned into that district. So that really did it for me. Nail in the coffin,” she recalled.

That report proved accurate. Reflecting on her first day of her second year at AHS, Mrs. Fronda said, “On the first day of school, students were already telling me about their summer. I didn’t know how much I was missing out on student connections. I felt like I knew my students outside of class—their day-to-day lives—and I was able to build a strong connection with some of them.”

Students noticed and appreciated her efforts. On his first day in her class, Aidan Encarnacion (12) reflected , “My friends have had Fronda when they were sophomores, and knowing them, the fact that they didn’t complain gave me pretty high hopes.” He added, “Of all the English teachers I’ve had, she’s probably the second best. She definitely likes to connect with us. She’s brainrotted, she scrolls on TikTok, and sometimes in class she’ll walk over to some groups and just talk. She likes it.”

For both Teacher Deblonk and Mrs. Fronda, the start of the year served as a reminder of why they chose to teach at AHS.