Retiring teachers end school year

High school physics teacher Roger Menard will officially retire at the end of this school year after a 33 year teaching career. Menard currently teaches physics and AP Physics.  “Mr. Menard, more so than any other teacher I’ve ever had, helped prepare me for the realities of college and the real world while consistently making his classes fun and engaging,” 2018 graduate Masen Nartataz s...

Family and consumer science teacher Jeffie Singo will be retiring this year after teaching for 26 years in the family and consumer science department. Within those 26 years, she has worked with students in Specialty Fashions, Lifetime Nutrition, Food Challenges, Consumer Strategies, Child Care 3 and a specialty class for special students. “Altoona teachers and students have given me many memories, of...

Work coordinator John Allender will be retiring this year after almost 42 years. He has placed students in various community service and competitive locations in the Altoona area. He also instructs students in evening alternative education programs. Allender has many plans for after retirement.  “I plan to visit my grandchildren in Colorado and visit my family in Michigan and Florida. Plus, I ha...

High school history teacher Rodger Fair is ready to retire after teaching at Altoona for 18 years. Before teaching, Fair was a hotel manager for 16 years in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.  ¨My wife and I moved back to Pennsylvania- it was where I grew up and went to college. There aren’t as many hotels in Pennsylvania as there are in Florida, so I went back to school and got my teaching certificate. ...

After 19 years of teaching at the high school, life skills teacher Deborah Decker is retiring this year. Decker taught Functional Daily Living Skills and all core classes at the secondary level. In total, Decker has spent 28 years in the teaching field; however, the majority of her career has been with the Altoona School district, something Decker cherishes. Throughout her years of teaching, Decke...

This year, English teacher Tina Johnston is retiring after spending 26 years at the high school.  Before Johnston became an English teacher, she started her career at the parochial school, St. Rose of Lima, teaching math for eight years until she received her certification to teach English from St. Francis University.  Johnston’s transition from math into English came from her passion for the subjec...

Kitty Resko is retiring this year after almost 43 years of teaching. She has taught for the Northeastern School District, the Dallastown School District and since the fall of 1978, the Altoona Area High School.  She teaches Child Care 3 , Child Care 4 and School Age Parenting.   Resko is the advisor for Skills U.S.A. for the child care students to compete using vocational skills. “I started her...

Dorothy Liller will be retiring after teaching for 35 years. She teaches Child Care Practicum I and Child Care Practicum II. Having been in school her whole life, Liller has plans for retirement. “I look forward to having a different calendar structure,” Liller said. Liller has good memories from her time at Altoona with her students. “My good memories are teaching my high school st...

Health education teacher Nancee Crider will be retiring after over 20 years of education. “I worked at AAHS for 22 years, BG for six years, and did sub work at Moshannon Valley, Bellwood and surrounding schools,” Crider said. Crider has many planse for her retirement. “I will spend time with friends and family, especially my two granddaughters Vivi and Leah. I will take art classes, tra...