Each school year, staff changes happen for a variety of reasons. Some find new job opportunities, take on new roles in their careers or simply retire.
The loss of two teachers in specific has greatly affected those at Altoona: Julia Buggey and Eric Hoover. Buggey taught physical education classes such as Strength and Conditioning and Weight Lifting. Hoover taught Art 1, Ceramics, Survey of Art and AP Art.
These teachers’ resignations have impacted not only the school itself but also students and staff.
“I’m sad that [Buggey] isn’t teaching here with us anymore,” fellow physical education teacher Megan Yingling said. “I’m excited for her, although she’s not here in Altoona, it’s pretty cool that she’s up in New York. She and her husband moved to NYC because her husband is an opera singer and was hired at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.”
Students who had Buggey during the 2024-25 school year have reflected on their time with her.
“I’m very sad,” sophomore Gianna Barbaria said. “She was a terrific teacher. A lot of students liked to have Ms. Buggey just because she was a very sweet teacher and she was always nice to the students around her. I felt like I could tell her anything, just because she was always so personal.”
“She was always so kind, and you could tell she really cared for her students,” senior Natalie Duffy said.
Although the physical education staff has lost Buggey, they’ve gained a new teacher in her place: Jada Schellhammer.
“[Schellhammer] is doing great,” Yingling said. “Honestly, their teaching styles are very similar, and they both have very good discipline for being new teachers.”
Schellhammer graduated from Lockhaven University, and before joining Altoona’s ranks was a building-based substitute teacher for elementary. Before she took her current position, she job shadowed Buggey.
“I distinctly remember leaving [Altoona] that day with the realization that this was the exact opportunity I had been searching for,” Schellhammer said. “Of all the schools I have worked with, Altoona stood out. I dedicated myself completely to securing the position when it officially opened. I vividly recall the moment Mr. Neely called to offer me the job, which I accepted without hesitation. Securing this role remains one of my proudest professional accomplishments.”
Now in this position, Schellhammer reflects on taking over for Buggey.
“I am absolutely privileged to work alongside the HPE [Health-Phys Ed.] department, who collectively are the most helpful and caring individuals that make a hard day easier,” Schellhammer said. “Megan Yingling is my mentor, and she welcomed me with open arms and reassured me through my adjustment process. I have quickly fallen in love with the process of learning little bits and pieces about my position. I get to try new things, encourage and be encouraged by some wonderful students and find new ways to find joy in each day.”
Meanwhile, Hoover left his position halfway into the 2024-25 school year. A substitute teacher was put in his place until a permanent replacement could be decided which caused a few problems for those in his classes.
“He was a really good teacher, and he would talk us through assignments,” sophomore Payton Gibson said. “Him leaving was a big challenge because he definitely made the class more entertaining and fun. [The class] was okay [without him]; the substitute who was in the room helped us a lot.”
Senior Jacob Crum was in Hoover’s Survey of Art class that year.
“Hoover was great because he really took the time to get to know his students as people and he was really encouraging about exploring individual ideas,” Crum said.
Finally, Hoover’s replacement was hired: current art teacher Olivia Gennaro.
“The transition [between teachers] was really stressful because it was hard to work on stuff while we had a substitute teacher,” Crum said. “When Gennaro first got here we were worried she wouldn’t live up to our expectations because Hoover was so great, but she did, and it was really nice to just have a teacher again.”
Gennaro started in Hoover’s position in January of 2025.
“I did not know Mr. Hoover super well,” Gennaro said. “But we’ve talked since he left, and I was able to [job] shadow him. That was really nice because I was able to see how he interacted with students and how he ran the classroom. I think my approach to teaching is a little bit halfway between Mr. Hoover and Mrs. Curry. I think [the fact] that we all have a similar outlook on teaching art helped students with the change.”
Before coming to Altoona, Gennaro taught art classes to 6-12 grade students at Juniata Valley.
“The dynamics of the district really couldn’t be any different,” Gennaro said. “Juniata Valley is very small, and it is probably a little bit more casual. Altoona is obviously much, much larger and more structured, but it fits my personality, and how I think of teaching much better.”
Gennaro’s job change didn’t come without challenges, however.
“My biggest issue was just trying to figure out the room,” Gennaro said. “Trying to teach students while finding everything that I needed was difficult.”
There was also tension in the art room as students adjusted to a new teacher.
“I feel like there’s a win-over time period anytime you replace someone, even if it’s not a quote-unquote ‘popular’ teacher,” Gennaro said. “Students naturally feel more comfortable with them. So, in general, I just tried to be as open, welcoming and honest as possible with everyone. Still, there was definitely some win over time, like I had a student who, verbatim, said, ‘I didn’t know if I was going to like you, but I’m glad I stuck it out.’ Now they like me a lot, and we get along.”
Gennaro’s favorite part of her current position is seeing students grow in art.
“I like teaching the different class [levels] because I can get the ninth graders involved and have them thinking about art differently, and then I love seeing that work the whole way up to survey and AP, where not only do I see the kids working differently, but they get to have that independence in class and really show and own their personal interests and abilities, and have a lot of responsibility and ownership over their art,” Gennaro said.
