Lauren Fedorko

An avid reader and poet for most of her life, Lauren Fedorko has taken the next step in her literary journey by joining the PHS English department this year. Fedorko, a former teacher at Rutgers University and North Hunterdon High School, will be teaching AP Language and Composition, English I, and English III at PHS, returning to the PPS district after almost a decade.

Believing in the reciprocal nature of teaching, Fedorko loves to learn from her students through classroom activities. She often incorporates aspects of history and art into class activities and lessons, encouraging her students to find unique ways to interact with literature.

“One of my most successful moments as an educator was getting all of my 85 AP literature students last year to genuinely love poetry. It got to the point where they were begging me to have a poetry festival at the end of the year. It was just such a beautiful moment of student empowerment,” Fedorko said.

With over a decade of teaching experience, Fedoko has taught various different classes in relation with the English language arts. At Rutgers, she taught a research course called Writing for Business and Profession, while at North Hunterdon she taught AP Literature and Composition, Creative Writing, and Public Speaking.

“I decided to teach because I really love poetry, and I feel like teaching literature is like helping students learn about becoming better people. They become more experienced with the world,” Fedorko said.

In her free time, Fedorko writes and publishes her own poetry.

“I think poetry is the key to empathy. I’m realy passionate about it and I think it’s the key to being the best version of ourselves,” Fedorko said.

Sarah Manto

This fall, the PHS science department welcomed Sarah Manto to teach Biology I and Biology I Accelerated, as well Anatomy and Physiology. Having just graduated from Seton Hall University with a Bachelor of Science in education this spring, Manto is beginning her first year as a teacher at PHS. While at Seton Hall, she completed four years of student teaching in various schools across the state, including in Livingston and Maplewood.

“I’ve always really liked teaching. I’ve been a tutor, [and] I’ve taught swimming for a really long time. I just really enjoy it. It’s a passion [of mine],” said Manto. “I think to be a teacher you need to have that drive and a calling. I truly enjoy the process of seeing students succeed and getting the lightbulb moment.”

In order to create a welcoming, immersive classroom, Manto makes an effort to customize each students’ learning experience based on their strengths and struggles, as well as their feedback.

“I listen to my students, I want to hear their opinions ... about what were learning and I change things based on how they think the class is going and how they felt [last] year went. In my class ... it’s about correcting your mistakes and not just moving on [to the next subject] so we do a lot of activities to learn what we may have done wrong on tests, assessments, or labs and it’s always a continual process of learning,” Manto said.

Since starting at PHS, Manto has described the student and faculty community at PHS as helpful, kind, and considerate, noting the support she’s received as she begins her first school year as a full time teacher. She also stresses PHS’s unique student body, underlining the dedication and passion she sees in her students.

Outside of the classroom, Manto enjoys ice skating, spending time with her dog, and swimming, which she hopes to coach here at PHS as well.

Robert Dutches

Robert Dutches, the newest addition to the Princeton High School social studies department, started working at PHS this year. Dutches teaches three different classes in the department: AP World History, World History, and United States History I.

Prior to joining PHS, Dutches taught history for eight years in various schools. He worked at Newark High School for five years and then spent a year at American History High School and another year at Marion P. Thomas High School. Last year, he worked at Roosevelt High School. While Dutches has spent the majority of his career teaching World History to ninth grade students, he is working on adapting his knowledge and experience to be able to effectively teach an 11th grade class instead. Dutches also has experience teaching AP U.S. Government and Politics, United States History II, and African American Studies.

One of the reasons Dutches chose to work at PHS was the strong community that it offers and vigorous learning environment.

“Not to disparage the places I [taught at], but it just seems like the students are much more involved, not just academically, but in other areas as well. I thought it would [be] really interesting to come to a place [where] students just have so much interest. It’s almost intimidating because students are so proficient in so many things,” Dutches said.

Not only does he find his students interesting to teach, but he appreciates what the school has to offer for teachers as well.

“The culture of the administration is much better. I’m coming from a place where there was a lot of micromanagement of teachers, and here the principal was very much from the start saying I’m not going to micromanage you. So I like the autonomy, I [get],” Dutches said.

As a high school student, Dutches found his ninth grade World History teacher, who also ended up teaching his AP Government class his senior year, very inspiring. He appreciated what a good teacher he had, and wanted to do the same for other people. Dutches wanted to do his part in increasing college access in places that have traditionally not had a lot of academic success. He saw the education gap in Newark and wanted to help. However, before starting his teaching career, Dutches finished his education, volunteered, and worked other jobs.

“As I was finishing my bachelor’s degree, I did two terms of AmeriCorps service, which is the domestic Peace Corps for a couple of nonprofits. Then I went to grad school for African American Studies and became a paralegal for about three years,” Dutches said.

However, Dutches knew from a young age that he wanted to be a teacher, but needed to take care of his son.

“When my son was born, I needed a job where I could work during the night and watch him during the day. [So], I worked at UPS and became a training supervisor there. Finally, I went back to school for teaching and became a paralegal again for about a year while I was getting my teaching degree.”

Outside of school, Dutches takes care of his two young sons. Although he does not have much free time, Dutches enjoys reading history books, watching movies and shows, and writing. His favorite show is “Breaking Bad.” As a self-proclaimed “history buff,” he enjoys reading about African American history, which he went to graduate school for.