These days, a familiar face may be met more often than before, in the halls of LHS. Mary Gifford worked as a substitute teacher in the LPS school district for many years before deciding to take on a more permanent role at our school.
After working for fourteen years as an environmental consultant, Ms. Gifford looked for a new path to take. “I was getting frustrated with my career because I felt like I wasn’t making any good changes in the world,” said Ms. Gifford. “I thought, ‘I’d really like to teach science’ because I had a really great science teacher in seventh grade that inspired me.”
She hoped to bestow that same experience upon current students. “I really want to get kids inspired by science,” she said.
Once she obtained her license to teach secondary science, she began working as a substitute teacher, quickly falling in love with teaching. She found that her abilities grew the most by working longer jobs, as opposed to short-term positions.
“What helped me become a good teacher and get teaching skills was that I did several long-term sub jobs. Certainly the day-to-day helps too, to get to know how to be a good teacher, but the best was the long-term jobs,” she said. She worked several long-term jobs throughout the LPS high schools, growing her teaching skills all the while.
But after several years of working as a substitute teacher, she assumed a lasting role at Littleton, among several other new Science Department staff members.
“I felt like it’d be more fun to have a group of students that I have all the time, over and over, and get to know them better, and to have my own class,” she said.
So now, teaching Integrated Science I-II, she has fully become a part of the LHS community. And although the year is young, she has enjoyed her experience. “It feels like a family. It’s a very welcoming place, all the teachers and the students [are] very friendly and you get to know people and they become your friends,” she said.
Ms. Gifford noted that she hopes to be here for a while, and is looking forward to what her position will bring. “I’m excited to be a part of the team!” she said.
