As the newest history teacher, Mr. Nathan Langelli, moves into his classroom, another position on the Freedom High School staff will open up. Mr. Frank Hernandez, the new assistant principal, left his teaching position up for grabs to take on a different title. Hernandez taught two classes—a freshman United States History class and a junior Contemporary American Studies class. With the absence of a teacher to fill the staff position, speculation as to how and when it will be filled obviously arose. Mr. Dan Guerra will take over Hernandez’s classes as a long-term substitute until Freedom administration hires a new teacher to fill Hernandez’s spot. This, in turn, will allow Hernandez to focus fully on being assistant principal. The history teacher position is currently open internally for staff within the district and externally for prospective teachers outside the district. Originally opened Oct. 4, the set time to receive applications closed Oct.18. “As of now, the job is posted as a full-time teacher,” Principal Mr. Timothy Dadich said. “However, that could change depending on who we have to interview.” “I don’t know exactly how they are going to go about it,” Guerra said. For most hiring processes at Freedom Area High School, all applicants must go through a first-round interview with the principal and assistant principal. After asking the necessary philosophical questions on education, that group is normally cut down to approximately six qualified candidates. “We had some pretty good candidates in there,” Dadich said. During the second round of the hiring process, those selected candidates must teach mock lessons by coming up with lesson plans based on a given prompt. After much deliberation, a candidate is picked based upon certain qualities that Freedom administration looks for in its staff. “Whoever fills that position needs to be the best possible person for the kids,” history teacher, Mrs. Maria Porter said. What are the needs of our students? Where do we see the department going? Where do we see our school going? These are just a few of the questions that will be contemplated during the hiring process. Dadich does not just want to fill the position as fast as possible. He wants to find teachers that not only fit the attitude of Freedom students, but fit the direction in which Freedom High School is going. “One of my main goals is to add at least two high-interest electives per every course area,” Dadich said. “But in order to do that, you have to have the staff to do so.”