By Sofia Rudus ’26
This year, the DHS has welcomed two new teachers: Kyle McGinnis and Johnathan Juliano. McGinnis works with RAISE students, and Juliano works with freshmen. Their unique prior experiences and goals have helped them transition into DHS.
Juliano and McGinnis are both familiar with teaching. Each described working previously with different grade levels in different towns and settings. Juliano has been a teacher for five years, and McGinnis is in his third year. They both are excited to work with high schoolers.
Both teachers describe their start at Derby High School as having a smooth transition. Juliano, who teaches grade nine, describes the other Freshman Academy teachers as working well together. He says the community within the school has a “nice family vibe.” McGinnis says that Derby “has been great for me, I’ve really enjoyed it. All the staff members here are very friendly and Mrs. Olson and Mr. Coplin are very helpful; it’s just been a very smooth transition.” Both teachers have had a positive welcome to Derby High School and feel great in the school.
A student of each teacher was interviewed to share their experiences. Brandon Sheets ‘27 is McGinnis’ student, and Gavin Thompson ‘28 is Juliano’s student. Both students had similar and positive things to say about each teacher. “He do[es] a really good job,” Sheets said, “he is always there to like help me out with my work from other classes.” Sheets further explained that he feels like he is prepared while in the classroom and that McGinnis helps him out with different problems. Thompson explained that Juliano helps him with work that he does not understand and that Juliano does a great job as a teacher. “I feel like if I wasn’t in this class,” Thompson said, “I would be failing more classes.”
Juliano and McGinnis also explained how they became teachers to begin with. McGinnis explained that he was in a different major in college and was not interested in having a career in education, but his friend suggested he become a teacher and he fell in love with it, too. Juliano majored in English and Journalism but also tried being a teacher and fell in love with it. He explains how he enjoyed working in resource rooms and being able to help students one-on-one.
Both of these teachers show excitement toward a fresh school year with many opportunities to guide their students and help them grow. Juliano hopes to help his students with different life skills such as finding career paths and jobs. McGinnis focuses on helping his students with direct assistance so that they can learn and understand their classes better.
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