Lara Zlam ‘26

REPORTER

At the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year, six incredibly talented teachers joined Unionville High School. 

The biology department has welcomed Mr. Ben Young and Mrs. Beth Hale, both of whom have previous teaching experience. Both educators bring a level of experience to the high school, as Mr. Young taught at a high school in Oxford for 15 years and Mrs. Hale taught at Upper Darby High School for 30 years. When Mrs. Hale is not teaching, you can find her on the baseball field. She is an avid Phillies fan. She also coaches softball and runs a successful robotics team. In her spare time, she enjoys reading.

Furthermore, Mr. Young brings a new subject to the table: music. He is a musician and plays acoustic guitar. In regards to his journey to becoming a teacher, his career path sprouted from an inspiring experience with his tenth-grade science teacher who made the subject interesting for him. Mr. Young says he is “not just here for biology, [he is] here for any other help that students need”. 

Additionally, Mrs. Antoinette Talone joined the high school as a special education teacher. She has past experience teaching Learning Support Math at Springfield High School in Pennsylvania. Apart from teaching, she loves traveling, skiing, and supporting all the Philadelphia sports teams. She is a proud dog and cat owner and is interested in cooking and finding new restaurants to experience. Mrs. Talone has twins graduating college this year, which she is excited about. Also, in the high school, she provides a warm and welcoming environment for the students. Mrs. Talone said, “I love to hear all about my students' lives and I always have treats to share”. 

Moreover, the business and computer apps department received a new teacher, Mr. Zach Lawrence. Although it is his first year teaching at the high school, Mr. Lawrence went to Unionville High School as a student and reached out to superintendent Dr. John Sanville after he knew he would be a teacher; he later graduated from Temple University this past May. Mr. Lawrence’s advice to students is that “taking business classes proves to be useful later in life”. When he is not in the business hallway, Mr. Lawrence can be found in the gym lifting weights or outside playing lacrosse. He also enjoys hanging out with his friends in Philadelphia. 

The high school has also received an addition to one of the core subjects, mathematics. Mrs. Debbie Ott has brought her experience and skills in teaching to the high school. Before this job, she was teaching math for 30 years in Delaware. Currently, she is teaching Trigonometry and Algebra 3. Although she teaches math, Mrs. Ott loves to read. She also enjoys relaxing at the beach and loves to play and spend time with her grandchildren. According to Mrs. Ott, “I'm willing to help any student.”

Last but not least, Señora Laura Shaw begins her first year teaching Spanish at Unionville! Sra. Shaw has a fascinating previous teaching life; she taught Spanish at Oxford, and before she taught English in Costa Rica. With her travel experience, she comes to the high school excited and hoping to give students some language-based trip opportunities. Some of her hobbies include gardening, making art, and traveling. 

In summation, the high school is so excited to welcome all of these incredible teachers to the school and see how they grow and contribute to the growth of UHS!