At the beginning of this school year, MAST Academy faced a significant issue with teacher shortages. A major aspect of it was needing a teacher for the A Level Marine class. This lasted for about a month until Sept. 9, when Christopher Castillo, a pre-med student, and army veteran filled the role. His time at MAST was short-lived however, as he recently left his position, his last day being Friday, Jan. 13. 

“ I am leaving MAST  because a long time ago I filled out an application to be an [Air Force] officer, the process took much less time than expected, so I am now being asked to fly into Mississippi to take on the role,” Castillo said. 

As Castillo departs MAST Academy students were left once again waiting for a teacher. For about a week, there were substitute teachers assigned to watch the class as students worked on marine-related assignments. At this time, many students wondered who would fill the position and when. 

“Ms.Jimenez is expected to come back from her leave of absence to teach the class, she is a science teacher and familiar with the school so it should be a smooth transition,” Castillo said 

Jimenez officially took over Castillo’s role on Jan. 24. 

“I’m very happy to be back, I feel like the students who are at MAST are of a higher caliber than other students elsewhere in the state,” Jimenez said. “I definitely feel more appreciated here too.” 

While the transition was fairly quick students still worry that this period of adjustment to a new teacher may set them behind. As they had become accustomed to Castillo’s method of teaching and a complete switch from that may impede their ability to learn. With 2 final exams for the class approaching in just a few months this stress is only further accentuated. 

“I don’t think students should be worried, I’ve taught Cambridge for many years and Aice Marine Science for 2 years so content wise I think we should be ok,” Jimenez said.