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Middle school welcomes new English teacher
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Neighbors | Shaiyla Hakeem .Lori Moncilovich is Poland Middle School's new seventh-grade language arts and eighth-grade English teacher. She moved to Poland in 1998.
By SHAIYLA HAKEEM
Coming out of Indiana University with a bachelor’s degree in interior design, Lori Monvilovich had a picture in her mind of what her career would look like.
As it’s turned out, she’s been forced to redecorate her resume.
“It didn’t turn out the way I thought it would,” Moncilovich said.
After a stint in the clothing industry, she went back to school to earn her teaching certificate and is putting it to good use this fall as an English teacher at Poland Middle School.
Moncilovich, a seventh-grade language arts and eighth-grade English teacher, has always loved English, but found her desire for teaching almost be accident.
Part of her job as the manager of a clothing store was to train other managers. It was then that she noticed her knack for teaching. She also became a Sunday school teacher working with middle school kids. That led her to the decision to teach teenagers. She went back to Indiana to obtain her teaching certificate and the rest is history.
Moncilovich relocated to Poland Township in 1998 when her husband of 20 years was transferred to work in Pennsylvania. The couple decided to raise their family in Poland because of the excellent reviews they came across while researching schools.
“I heard it was one of the best school districts in the area and that was important for us,” she said.
When she first arrived to Poland, she was a stay-at-home mom. After watching her children work their way though the school system, Moncilovich decided she wanted to contribute to teaching the kids in her town.
“I have been impressed with the quality education our older children received though the schools and the support of the community,” she said. “I have a vested interest in the community.”
Over the past five years, Moncilovich has been a substitute teacher for the district, a part-time tutor at McKinley Elementary and a full-time special education tutor. This is her first full-time position in the area of English.
Moncilovich has many goals set for this school year, one of which is to expose students to different genres, while helping them with their grammar and writing skills.
She tries to take what she is teaching and apply it to everyday life as a means to keep her students interested.
Moncilovich, who said she has always enjoyed literary challenges, encourages her students to look at classical masterpieces and works as more than just words on paper. She wants her students to walk away from her class with a different view of English and literature.
“I want kids to enjoy exploring all different types of literary genres and learn how to take it beyond what is on the surface,” Moncilovich said. “I think this is going to be a great year.