Cass top picks. 

Ethan Nottingham 

With the 2024-2025 school year coming to an end, there is a lot to unfold from this year. One of the main things that every student has at the end of the year is a favorite teacher. With the freshmen that just came to Cass, or the seniors that have been here for four years; they can all tell you about a teacher that either they like the most, or even which one is their favorite. Even though not every teacher is someone’s favorite, every teacher works their hardest to make Cass high a incredible place for learning and to feel safe. The Cass trumpet created a poll where students could vote for their favorite teacher. The following teachers listed below are the top 5 in no particular order.

Anastasia McGill – Theater Teacher

Mrs. McGill was the top voted teacher. She teaches the theater program at the school. Some of her favorite things about teaching is seeing her students’ eyes light up when they finally get to do the thing that they’ve been working on. Also, the passion that she gets to see in the students grows over the years. She makes her class feel very welcoming to new students coming into the program. Mrs. McGill and her students make the theater program feel like a safe place for a lot of students. When asked what is a message you would give to all your students, she explains that “You can do all the things that you want to do, you just have to be willing to step out of the box.” With that being said, Mrs. McGill is a great teacher and is very appreciated at Cass and we are all glad to have her as a teacher. From Junior, Blayke Gardiner “She is really good with dealing with the emotions of highschoolers and taking the place of a parent.”

Mrs. Smith- English teacher

Mrs. Smith was voted in the top 5 of teachers. She teaches Pre-Ap Literature, Ninth Literature and the Journalism class for Newspaper. Some  things that she really enjoys about teaching is that she likes being able to make a difference in the students’ lives. Also, she likes being able to converse with students, and being able to connect with the students and be the person she needed in highschool. What makes her classes stand out is that she tries to fully engage with the students by making jokes with them and just making her class more enjoyable, while also catering her lesson for any type of learner to be able to learn with. What made her become a teacher is the fact that she truly did not like highschool, but when she got to college she finally realized that she liked the learning aspect of it, but not the school part. She wanted to make the learning and school enjoyable. When asked, “What is one message you would like to leave to your students?” She stated, “Be the best person you can be every single day and that you are smart enough to accomplish whatever is asked of you.” Sophomore Malorie Rogers stated “She is a very chill and honest teacher and I feel that I can talk to her about anything and not feel awkward.”

Mr. Pyle- ELA teacher

Mr. Pyle was also part of the top 5 list. He teacher AP Literature and American literature. Some tactics that he uses to keep his seniors engaged is to tailor the readings toward what they should expect after highschool. Not in a job sense, but more as in morality and different experiences that they’ll have to wrestle with when they get to college. With his junior class, he is very straightforward and states that you should want to be smart and that education is more than just 12 years in school. One of the statements that he makes to the students is that intelligence is good to have in general not just because he thinks it is going to be the best thing in the world or good for a job but that it is just  good for you to be smart. When he went into college to find a path to go down he looked at the job that would help him best to love people. He picked teaching so that he could try to make a change in the education system. When asked what is one message that he would give to all his students he said, “try your best to love one another and understand what it means to love one another as best as you can.” Junior Paisley Donohue said “He makes the class fun and I feel comfortable talking to him.”

Mrs. Moore – Math Teacher

Mrs. Moore is also one of the teachers that made the top 5 teacher poll. She teaches Algebra 1 and Honors Algebra 1. She loves to be able to develop relationships with the students and make a connection with the students. Aswell, as seeing their love with math grow and being able to understand what she is teaching the students. What helps her class stand out and different from most classes is that she tries to break the math down for students. When she starting college she did not like math at all but after she got to college she had an amazing professor that made it make so much sense. From there, she knew that she wanted to teach math so that she could help kids like her, to actually enjoy math. One message that she would leave to all her students is that “It doesn’t have to be right, but it can’t be blank.” She said even if it is wrong there will be something in the equation that you did answer correctly. From Sophomore Katilyn Teate said that “It is never boring in her class.”

Coach Spencer 

The last of the top 5 at Cass is Coach Spencer. He teaches P.E. and coaches football and girls soccer. He enjoys being able to build relationships with the students and not necessarily the classroom side but the lifestyle side. When keeping his students engaged in P.E he will play the games with the kids and make himself look dumb so that they aren’t as scared to lose. His dad told him that he should become a teacher when he was in college, but he did not believe his dad. He worked in construction and asbestos abatement but couldn’t stand being away from his family. So, then he took up teaching. One message he would like to all of the students is that “Don’t be scared to try anything”. From Junior Connor New he stated that “ Coach Spence is always pumped and always willing to help”