Near the end of February 2024, select Spanish classes ranging from levels and hours four to six were left without a teacher. Jennifer Geroux seemingly disappeared into thin air, leaving students, administration and parents with questions. With the disappearance of Geroux, students in fourth, fifth and sixth hour were left bouncing between substitute teachers, lesson plans and even different classrooms.
In an informative email from Head Principal Joe Esper, geared towards all affected spanish students he says, “Mrs. Geroux has been unexpectedly absent for a number of days. We are moving forward with identifying a highly qualified Spanish teacher to take the lead in the class,” Esper stated on Feb. 21. “To date the classes have been supported by Mrs. Batcha & Mrs. Hansen.”
With the support of fellow spanish teachers at school Tamara Batcha and Catherine Hansen, these teachers have put in great effort to keep the transition for former students of Geroux as easy as possible.
Nearly two weeks later on Mar. 4, there seemed to be a glimmer of hope for everyone involved.
Esper stated in an email, “It has been challenging for us to get the planning information required up to this point, but we now have a good long term plan in place for the rest of this semester,” Esper said, “Mr. Jorge Cruz has been hired by TCAPS and he will co-teach these Spanish classes for the rest of this school year with Mrs. Hansen or Mrs. Batcha.”
With the addition of the new native speaker Cruz, it seemed set in stone when it came to introducing classes to the new speaker. The plan was for Cruz to co-teach alongside Batcha and Hansen, along with all classes making the move from Geroux’s classroom in downstairs A wing to upstairs A wing in the classrooms of Batcha or Hansen. But soon enough, new issues appeared leaving the Spanish community in the dark yet again.
An email sent on Mar. 11 claims, “Mr. Cruz had a change of plans this weekend and will no longer be joining our Spanish classes,” Esper explained. “We will discuss the co-teaching position with other interested candidates today.”
Finally, on Mar. 14, Esper stated in an email “West has hired Mr. Caleb Miguel Acosta to co-teach 4th, 5th and 6th periods with Mrs. Hansen and Mrs. Batcha,” Esper said, “Students will see him in class starting Monday, [Mar. 18.]”
