Ever since 1998, Mrs. Linda Pistoria has been an educator at North Penn High School. This year, Pistoria has decided to retire after leaving a lasting impression on those she has taught.
“I am an English teacher, but I’m Special Ed certified, so that is my main job. I work with tenth grade and twelfth grade,” Pistoria explained. “When they hired me in 1998, because of my Special Ed certification we opened up what was called a Resolution Room and it’s where students with IEPs could come if they were feeling anxious or stressed or angry or sad, so that’s where I started. That was full-time.”
The Resolution Room was an important part of North Penn that was added with the support of Pistoria. It has been very beneficial to the students who are in need of extra support and inclusion. One of the hardest parts of retirement for Pistoria will be leaving the kids she teaches and supports every day.
“You know what, I would probably stay longer because of the kids,” Pistoria reflected.
One of the most important parts of being a teacher is prioritizing your students’ success. Pistoria has always done that and finds joy in watching them learn new things in class.
“My favorite part is when they learn something new. If we are writing and they get a good quote into their writing and cite it and analyze it. It’s like ‘Ok, I can do this.’ And when they realize they can do things it makes me feel like I did my job. I always like to joke around and laugh with them,” Pistoria said.
Pistoria is an amazing teacher, but it wasn’t her original career path that she wanted to take.
“I first wanted to be a nurse, but then I changed my mind I believe during my senior year. I told my dad I wanted to be a Special Ed teacher and he said, ‘Well they burn out, so you should probably do something along with it,’ so that’s why I also have an Elementary Education degree,” Pistoria explained.
Despite her original decision to be a nurse, Pistoria has been happy to be a teacher. A highlight of her career was watching kids come back from the pandemic.
“After COVID when the kids started coming back, that was definitely the highlight. You go from teaching to a screen to all of the sudden having like six bodies in here. That was probably the best memory, having the kids come back,” Pistoria said.
The kids mean so much to Pistoria which shows her commitment to her career since ‘98.
“I will miss the kids. The kids and the coworkers. All the teachers that I work with,” Pistoria said.