Bradley Scherden

Q: Where did you go to high school and describe your high school experience?

A: I went to high school here and I graduated in 2013. I took a lot of Spanish and music classes.

Q: What brought you to Altoona to teach?

A: I’ve been teaching at Catholic schools, and I found out about the opportunity to come to my own school and serve students that need more help.

Q: What inspired you to become a teacher?

A: I had a lot of really good teachers when I was in school, and when I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my future, I looked at the people around me that I respected.

Q: Who has been the most help to you as you have started this new job?

A: Mr. Derives has done a whole lot to show me about what I need to do to be successful at my job.

Q: Why did you choose to teach high school students?

A: I have the opportunity to come back to my own high school and help students.

Q: How has the school year gone for you?

A: A little crazy; I left two schools at the end of October and then came back here at the beginning of November. So it was a big balancing act for a while.

Q: What were you doing before you came to teach here?

A: For the last three years, I have been teaching band at Catholic schools in our Central Pennsylvania region.

Q: How would you describe your classroom?

A: I don’t have my own classroom, but I enjoy the opportunity to go to four different teachers’ rooms during the day and interact with students in a variety of settings.

Q: What do you want your students to take away from your teaching besides the actual content you’re teaching?

A: I want my students to learn strategies on how to think about things in a way that makes sense to them; they don’t have to memorize everything.

Q: What are your top three things to accomplish by the end of the school year?

A: [I want to] figure out how to do my job well, make connections with the students that have my classes and make connections with the teachers that I get to work with.