AP United States History (APUSH) teacher Robert Kelly’s decision to leave the district leaves the social studies department with the task of filling his position.

Although the district had a job fair on April 1, no one candidate stood out as the right one to take Kelly’s place. “When you’re trying to replace somebody with experience, not only with teaching, but also with the community, you want to choose someone who is very good,” social studies Instructional Supervisor John Fredrich said. “It’s like comparative shopping.”

Fredrich, who is in the process of interviewing candidates for the course, hopes to get a teacher who has both specialized and general experience. As most teachers teach multiple courses, it is preferable that the replacement teacher is able to teach more than one course. In the case of an inexperienced replacement teacher, there are specialized training courses that ETS offers for AP teachers.

Next year, the social studies department will also be losing Sam Picture and Alice McCraley, who will be on maternity leave. “The situation is that the social studies department is going to be losing a number of teachers,” Principal Noreen Likins said. “They’ll be looking for people who can cover the needs of the department.”

Teachers already in the social studies department might also take on more responsibility. “It’s a juggling act where we develop people and offer opportunities to those already in the department and also fill in the gaps,” Likins said.

Currently, members of the social studies department, along with Likins, are trying to narrow down the list of almost 150 APUSH student applicants to about 90 who will be admitted into next year’s expected three APUSH classes. However, Kelly is not taking a part in determining next year’s students. “It’s not fair to Mr. Kelly to ask him to do the next teachers’ work,” Fredrich said. “He’s moving on.”

Kelly, although excited, is also unhappy about leaving. “Excited as I am to do this and I’m sure it’ll be fun, I’ll be leaving behind familiarity,” Kelly said.