This Friday we are celebrating Lisa Schwartz, a Goshen High School Spanish teacher who has been with the district for 17 years!
After serving as an early intervention special education teacher around the county and Spanish teacher at Washingtonville High School, Schwartz joined the Goshen Central School District in 2007.
“I had been offered jobs in a few different schools in Orange County, but fell in love with Goshen,” she said. “The administrators, teachers, students and families that make up the Goshen community have always been so warm and welcoming.
“I felt like I belonged right away,” said Schwartz, “even during my interview with Roy Reese and his doggies!”
The long-time high school Spanish teacher received her bachelor’s degree from Dominican College (now Dominican University), and her master’s degree from Mount Saint Mary College. Her teacher certifications are in both special education and Spanish (7-12).
“I love teaching Spanish,” Schwartz said. “It has been so useful, not only as a job, but in real life situations as well.”
For example, she acquired her first special education job in the Bronx because she could speak, read and write in the language.
Schwartz said each year she looks forward to feeling like a celebrity when former students come visit her classroom and yell her name to say “hi,” or when she bumps into students in the so-called “real world” and they come up to chat with her.
BONUS fact: If she could travel back in time, Schwartz would go back to her late teenage years to be able to spend more time with her grandfather.
“He passed away too early, he was only 64,” she said, “and he was such a fun, intelligent, loving man.
“He was very big on education and would have been so proud that I became a teacher.”
Thank you, Lisa Schwartz, for all you do! We appreciate you!