Last year, Dr. Adam Hoo managed two jobs at once as both a freshman grade biology teacher and as an interim assistant principal. However, starting this September, Dr. Hoo has returned to the classroom as a sophomore earth science teacher.

As an administrator, Dr. Hoo worked with students and staff to promote safe and enriching experiences throughout the school. However, he admits that it was sometimes difficult for him when it came to disciplining students. “As with any richly diverse environment, situations sometimes arise that might be potentially antithetic to positive outcomes,” Dr. Hoo said. “It’s not fun to see students get into trouble, but it’s rewarding to see success and positive turnaround after lessons learned.”

Having two jobs exposed Dr. Hoo to a new perspective at the school. “Being able to serve as teacher and administrator is a unique privilege,” Dr. Hoo said. “I was able to connect with incredibly diverse niches of a grand organization—getting to know and connect with the hard-working people behind the scenes, as well as those front and center.”

Although Dr. Hoo enjoyed his time as both an administrator and a teacher, he looks forward to his new position as a full time earth science teacher and plans on sticking to a hands-on and practical curriculum. “I am working continuously to plan and [prepare] for what I hope will be a course rooted in 21st century functionality,” Dr.Hoo said. “I’d like to see my students connect with real-world influences and see the applicability of the science they learn. This means working to connect lessons-to-labs, textbook-to-tangibility, heuristics-to-hands-on, pupils-to-professionals and classroom-to-context”

Teaching full time again means that Dr. Hoo will be spending more time directly working with students at the school directly. “[My favorite part about teaching is the] students,” Dr. Hoo said. “Without fail, students in all my classes demonstrate that they each have so much to offer our world, and I witness them do so with interactive positivity, story-sharing, collaborative learning and sharp socio-academic connectivity.”

Students from Dr. Hoo’s class last year felt well prepared for exams and credited this to his teaching style. “He was very organized and had an elaborate plan for every class, which he was able to adjust quickly and easily when needed,” sophomore Caitlin Cunningham said. “He was also very interactive with the class and asked lots of questions to keep us involved. He always made sure that we were prepared and knew all of the information he was teaching before a quiz or test.”

Lisa Moore took Dr.Hoo’s place as the freshman administrator at the start of the school year. Ms.Moore has always been interested in going into administration. She has been working for Arlington Public Schools (APS) for 16 years, working at the Arlington Career Center for 10 years and at the school for six years. “I’m looking forward to making connections with the freshman class, joining the awesome leadership team at WL, and just really learning all the aspects of [the] role of assistant principal to prepare me for one day becoming a  principal,” Ms.Moore said.

Dr. Hoo appreciates the experience he had as a part-time interim assistant principal, but is ready to delve into a new chapter of his career. “I am super excited about teaching earth science, while learning so much more with and from my students,” Dr. Hoo said. “Everyone has a role to occupy. Mine is teaching, and I’m very satisfied in this field.”