The loss of four teachers in the science department has greatly affected Palmetto. Former teachers Monica Avalos and Keith Mueller left for private schools in Miami-Dade County, and Terri Ortiz and Ana Landa left to teach at other public schools.
“Those teachers will be missed, however they were presented with opportunities they couldn’t turn down,” Pamela Shlachtman, Science Department Head and AP Environmental Science teacher, said.
Monica Avalos currently shares her knowledge of chemistry at Gulliver Preparatory. Terri Ortiz took the position of Science Department Chair at Homestead Senior High. Palmetto received notice of Ortiz’s offer just a few weeks before school started. Ana Landa now works at Terra Nova, and Keith Mueller left because he did not complete all of his coursework that needed to be done in order to be a full-time teacher.
Even though the four teachers miss Miami Palmetto Senior High and the many Panthers that walk its halls, they are very happy in their new homes, according to Avalos.
“At Palmetto I couldn’t teach the way I would’ve liked to,” Avalos said. “In other words, I lost my mojo.”
Even though she loved her former students at Palmetto, she would find it very difficult to return to teaching in the public school system.
“Here at Gulliver, I can be a lot more enthusiastic about my job,” Avalos said. “At Palmetto I had limited space to work with.”
Alexander Osuna returned to Palmetto to teach Marine Science and Biology. He left Palmetto for one year to teach at South Dade Senior High School.
“It was a huge change from one school to the other,” Osuna said. “There was a big difference in the cultural backgrounds of the students. It made it more difficult to teach.”
Gina Garzon came to teach Biology this year from Northwestern Senior High and enjoys her new job at Palmetto.
“The change from the two schools is very different,” Garzon said. “Kids will be kids; I will still love them in the same way.”
Garzon believes that the school functions smoothly and the staff manages efficiently. She also enjoys the environment.
“I’m proud to be a new Panther, and hopefully I will stay a Panther for a long time,” Garzon said.
After four years at Southwood Middle School, Irene Montano joined the Palmetto staff as an Earth and Space Science teacher.
“The time change is just such a big difference,” Montano said. “But to make up for it, I like that the kids are older and act a little more mature than the middle schoolers.”
When asked on his opinion about the new teachers, Cullen Bullock, AP Biology and Anatomy teacher, said, “First thing is, I think that Ms. Shlachtman did a great job on picking the new teachers, and from what I hear the teachers are doing a great job and are both loving the kids and the school.”
Shlachtman spent the last week of July and the first two weeks of August interviewing potential teachers very carefully and making sure to hire the right teachers for Palmetto. Shlachtman had to make sure the teachers were a good fit because of restraints the region imposes on the school district; she could only hire a certain number of teachers. Shlachtman was able to hire (or bring back) spectacular teachers.
“I saw Ms. Dobbs almost on a daily basis,” Shlachtman said. “As you hire new teachers, schedules also have to be re-arranged and it is a time consuming and stressful event.”
Despite the loss of four teachers, Shlachtman strongly believes that Palmetto has one of the strongest science departments in the county.
“It’s hard to replace teachers that have been here for years,” Shlachtman said, “but the newest members of the science department have a lot to offer the students at Palmetto.”
