First-year teacher feels right at home – Coastal Observer

First-year teacher feels right at home – Coastal Observer

When Lilly Javoroski graduated from Waccamaw High School in 2022, she had no idea she’d come back four years later to teach.  It wasn’t always her plan to teach, Javoroski said, but she always had a soft spot for it. As a senior in high school she was a teacher cadet, where she taught her classmates Algebra 2 lessons alongside the teacher, Lawrie Anne Brone. Being a teacher cadet confirmed her interest in teaching, but Javoroski said she had already committed to attend Clemson University as a math major and didn’t feel a need to change plans.  “I just really liked math, so I didn’t think anything of it,” she said.   In her third year of college, she became a teaching assistant and began tutoring  individual students and student groups. She said the experience made it clear that she wanted to become a teacher. She continued assistant teaching and tutoring as a senior and began applying for teaching jobs to pursue after graduation.  Coming around full circle, over winter break Brone sent Javoroski a notice for an opening in the WHS math department. “That’s kind of what opened my eyes to it because my past teacher had so much faith in me that I could come back and teach,” she said. Her love for Pawleys Island also made the decision easy, Javoroski said. She had also been back at the high school every summer to help coach volleyball, staying in touch with the community.  After rounds of interviews, Javoroski was offered a job to teach algebra 2 along with probability and honors calculus. She will also  help coach the volleyball B-team this year.  Over the summer Javoroski began an alternative certification route that continues through the school year, allowing her to teach while earning her state credentials.  Kalu Kalu Jr., the chief human resources officer for the Georgetown County School District, said Javoroski’s age or alternative certification route was not a concern. He said the state has a comprehensive plan to show candidates are “efficient and qualified for the position.” Kalu said the district is also “always in a partnership with our teachers,” utilizing mentoring and introduction programs, such as a summer boot camp for new teachers that Javoroski participated in.  It’s been a blessing to come back to WHS, Javoroski said, where she’s had support from her own previous teachers and her new colleagues. Brone has especially helped Javoroski to adjust and feel prepared. Brone even gave her some student artwork to hang on her classroom walls.  While she’s been careful to “dress older” and hold students’ respect, Javoroski said she thinks that being closer in age to her students will serve as an advantage.  “I can empathize with them and kind of be like, ‘OK, this is what worked for me when I was in school. This is what was working for my classmates when they were in school, how can I use that to help you guys?’ Also, I understand they’re teenagers, they’re in high school, they probably don’t always want to be here,” Javoroski said. “So I want to do activities that make them want to be here or want to come to school and help them learn.”  In college, Javoroski had professors who she said talked at students rather than with them. She emphasized that she didn’t want to come across that way to her students; she wants to be someone they’re comfortable with asking for help. After four years of studying for her math degree, she said she understands “how teachers can make it difficult to learn an already difficult subject.”  According to one of her students, Javoroski seems to be off to a good start. “It’s more approachable. She’s not holding her age over us. I get encouraging, I get inviting,” said Jessie Hammel, a senior in Javoroski’s honors calculus class.  Javoroski said one of her strengths as a tutor was her ability to explain things in a new way that clicked for students and that certain teaching methods don’t always work for the whole class.  “I think it’s important to help the students in a way that makes sense for them,” she said.  Kalu said that the school district “works hard to hire as many folks that understand the community as possible,” but also look outside of the community to ensure the district is bringing “the best and brightest” into the classrooms.  “We’re always excited when our homegrown students come back and work for us,” he said.