Sohrab Ghassemi replaced history teacher and Social Studies Department Head Sam Jezak on Feb. 2, when Jezak began his six-week paternity leave.
Ghassemi, who held a long-term substitute teaching role at The Harker School, teaches U.S. History, AP US History, and Government, and assumed Jezak’s responsibilities in junior grade-level SEL meetings.
Head of Upper Campus Eve Kulbieda said she is confident that Ghassemi’s expertise will support Jezak’s students during his absence.
“[Ghassemi’s] familiarity with AP coursework and commitment to student-centered instruction give us great confidence that students will be well supported during Mr. Jezak’s leave,” Kulbieda said.
Previously, Ghassemi taught middle school history, Latin, AP U.S. History, and World History at Harker. Kulbieda said Ghassemi’s track record as a
substitute teacher was one of the reasons that Pinewood hired Ghassemi.
“Dr. Ghassemi was chosen because of his extensive experience teaching these exact courses, his strong background in history education, and his proven success of stepping into long-term roles midyear,” Kulbieda said.
Ghassemi plans to bring several changes to the class-room by the end of March, including the implementation of case method studies and a conversation teaching style using Socratic method questioning and class discussions. In order to ease students into Ghassemi’s new teaching style, Ghassemi and Jezak worked together to secure a smooth transition.
“A main teaching strategy when covering a leave position is to communicate with the lead teacher in advance and plan for a smooth transition,” Ghassemi said. “Mr. Jezak and I did that, and I appreciate his time and efforts during the process.”
Despite this smooth transition, Ghassemi has faced a few challenges in his early time at Pinewood. Ghassemi says that he is still adjusting to Pinewood’s rotating block schedule.
“I would say that learning the various versions of the daily schedule for each day of the week is definitely a challenge that keeps me always looking at my Google Calendar as well as the clock,” Ghassemi said.
Overall, Ghassemi is impressed by the values of Pinewood students.
“I appreciate the student culture here at Pinewood,” Ghassemi said. “Students are both hardworking and caring: an important combination for success both academically as well as socially.”
Ghassemi is grateful for the warm welcome Pinewood has provided for him.
“Pinewood faculty, staff, and administration have been awesome,” Ghassemi said. “Everyday they greet me with smiles, encouragement, and a helping hand.”
