ISSUE 2: Robinson Teachers Continue to Leave

In the 2023-24 school year, more than any of the other years, Robinson has had more teachers leaving the school, which leaves most students wondering when will they have a real teacher again.

While there have been teacher shortages everywhere, Robinson especially has been a victim of this with a multitude of unfilled positions in both the math and physics departments. After the previous physics teacher of the 2022-23 school year, Sophie Weslati, took a leave of absence, Robinson received a new physics teacher, Robert Hart. Hart went on to teach for the first few weeks of school when he received a job offer in Iowa. Luckily, Russel Pienias took the open position and is the new physics teacher, hopefully, for the rest of the year.

Not only have these leaves affected the physics department but also the math department.

Joshua Gutierrez, a former math teacher at Robinson, had to transfer schools and now teaches at Sumner High School due to the distance between his home and Robinson. This unexpected vacancy has left many kids without a teacher and has them worrying about what will happen next with their grades. Brenda Seal one of the school’s now former math teachers had been helping partially substitute and assign work to the students after Gutierrez left, while Robinson looked for a new teacher to fill the spot. Unfortunately, Seal also left Robinson due to an offer at another school.

Gutierrez’s departure has left students without a coherent plan for the future. Kelly Sandafer expressed how difficult it’s been for her to learn without a teacher.

“It’s really hard to learn because I have to watch videos and there is no one to hold me accountable or help me when I need help,” Sandafer said. “So, I sort of have to teach myself and be my teacher.”

Dave Brown, Robinson’s Principal, explained that these losses aren’t anything new just unique to Robinson this school year.

“This isn’t anything new when you’re in education this happens all the time teachers come and go… that’s just life, things happen. This year it may be unique to Robinson because we normally don’t have a lot of people who leave Robinson, especially now we have a teacher shortage,” Brown said. “Right now, there are 28 high schools in Hillsborough County, and every high school averaging about four openings per school where they just don’t have teachers. The way the job market is now there are so many jobs out there for people that have some sort of educational skill. It’s not easy we’re constantly looking for new teachers. It’s sad for the kids because you’re getting used to a teacher.”

While these losses are hard to deal with, Brown keeps a positive outlook for the future of Robinson and its staff.

“It’s hard because we’re trying to find people to come into our industry and teach and there’s just not a lot of people out there, so it puts stress on the rest of us,” Brown said. “It’s hard we cope as best as we can and were just fortunate.”

About the Contributors

Sofia Scott, Staff Writer

Sofia Scott is a junior at Robinson and a staff writer. This is her first year on the staff. For most of high school, Scott has wanted to join the Robinson newspaper staff. Now that she has the chance, she's excited to jumpstart her journalism career for the Knight Writers. "I've been wanting to take journalism for so long, but I always had a bunch of classes that I needed to take so I wasn't getting put into the class, but I finally got it," Scott said. Scott is excited to write stories that express her opinions in newspaper and allow her to interact with people around the school by interviewing people for stories and gaining their input for events. "I prefer to interview just because I actually like interacting with people and I feel like it's a fun way to do journalism. I just like interacting with people and interviewing them and getting their opinion, " Scott said. Outside of newspaper, she participates in numerous school clubs such as Knightmare and Student Government Association (SGA.) She plans to rejoin Knightmare this year and is eager to begin with her first year as an SGA member. As Sofia enters her last years of high school, she plans to attend college or trade school to become an esthetician, keeping in line with her interest in beauty and makeup. "I think I'm going to move towards going into psychology when I major in college, maybe later I go to a trade school or become like an esthetician or something like that because that stuff has always interested me," Scott said. (Profile by Whittaley Bowden)

Yesenia Rosario, News & Features Editor

Yesenia Rosario is a junior at Robinson and the News & Features Editor of Knight Writers. This is her second year on staff and her first year as an editor. Rosario has a deep fondness for the community that journalism has built for her, leading her to return to the staff for a second year. "What brings me back is the community and the work, it’s very great. It’s very easy but fun at the same time," Rosario said. Although busy with her academics, Rosario manages to find time for hobbies; she especially enjoys baking and being with friends. Rosario also appreciates a wide variety of media, particularly the essence of Jordan Peele's movies. Currently, “Coraline” is ranked as one of her favorite movies due to its more dark and irreverent tone. “It's not that I don't lean over any other genres of movies, it's just that I think that thrillers and creepy movies have you on the edge of your seat more, they could be more interesting," Rosario said. "More can be done with a lesser timeframe, rather than like two-hour movies, and though they're good, they're pretty lengthy, so I think that horror and thriller movies have so much content in a short amount of time." Being a movie and music enthusiast, her favorite section to write is A&E. She often finds herself gravitating towards sections that allow her to editorialize. “I prefer writing album reviews over any other, because it's something I enjoy writing about and giving my opinion on and it gives me a reason to listen to music for fun, rather than having to write lengthy feature stories or any informative story that aren't as fun to write," Rosario said. Rosario hopes that her love for writing will continue to play a role in her future, even after high school. “One of the reasons I like journalism is that you’re able to choose and write about what you’d like and I think that’s pretty cool," Rosario said. Profile by (Jordan De La Cruz)

Ashlyn Miller, Sports Editor

Ashlyn Miller is a junior at Robinson and the Sports Editor of Knight Writers. This is her second year on staff and first year as an editor. Miller's favorite part of journalism is taking photos of all of the sports at Robinson and improving her photography skills. "We don't exactly have press at Robinson so it's rewarding to me to take photos of people doing what they love," Miller said. Outside of the journalism room, Miller stays involved in school with an array of hobbies. She enjoys staying involved in school by participating in swimming, photography and orchestra. She enjoys playing the violin and loves learning new pieces. "If you're able to make the violin sound good, it's a such rewarding accomplishment for such a difficult instrument," Miller said. Miller also likes spending time with her dog in her past time. Out of cats or dogs, she instantaneously chose dogs. "I prefer dogs. I actually own a German Shepherd named Leia and she's the light of my life, but I have nothing against cats," Miller said. Prepared for the future, she plans to attend journalism school, preferably at Duke University and join their ROTC program. Miller is passionate about media and sports although how competitive positions are. "I want to specialize in the media realm and possibly be a sports commentator for ESPN," Miller said. "I love watching, covering and even playing sports because of the environment that surrounds them and the gratification that comes with doing well." (Profile by Briana Garcia)

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ISSUE 2: Robinson Teachers Continue to Leave

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