New teacher feature

Allison Schroyer (English 11)

1. What brought you to Salem?

My husband is in the Navy, so he got restationed to Virginia Beach over the summer. Once I found out we were moving here, I began looking for English positions. I interviewed with and felt Salem was a good fit, so when I was offered the position, I took it.

2. What is your favorite thing about working here at Salem?

I love the camaraderie that I have with my co-workers. I also think the students are all incredibly talented and I love how engaged they are in class.

3. What are some of your hobbies and interests?

I enjoy being outside with my family, reading and traveling.

Binta Smith (Art)

1. What brought you to Salem?

I was not planning to make the jump from middle school to high school, however, when my art supervisor let me know about the art teacher opening at Salem I could not let go of such a great opportunity.

2. What do you love most about Salem so far?

The students are amazing, the staff is so nice, and the dismissal time is awesome.

3. What are some of your hobbies or interests?

I love to paint and create with resin epoxy. I also have a traveling paint party business.

Cajan Nelms (ROTC)

What brought you to Salem?

The NJROTC Program and Chief Warrant Officer McMiller

What are some of your hobbies and interests?

I stay busy with my two beautiful grandsons Trent and Kymani, I make professional cakes/cupcakes, and I have an Investment Business….Oh and NJROTC!

What is your favorite thing about working at Salem?

The students! The Cadets in the program are so fun and inspiring and I am so thankful to be in their lives!

Drema Biron (History Teacher)

What brought you to Salem?

I had taken a break from teaching for a few years so it was a great opportunity for me to get into the right school at the right time.

What are some of your hobbies and interests?

Swimming, yoga, movies of pretty much any type. I’m a Marvel movie fan. I did a Marvel movie marathon last year with my son, and watched them all in order. The benefits of quarantine.

What is your favorite thing about working at Salem?

My students are amazing, the teachers have been very welcoming, it’s all been great honestly. Probably the students are my favorite though, I have great students.

Janice Samonte (Special Education/English)

What brought you to Salem?

I came to Salem to work as a Special Education Teacher.

What are some of your hobbies and interests?

I love to read and try new things! Spending time outside and with my family are things that I enjoy!

What is your favorite thing about working at Salem?

My favorite thing about working at Salem are the students! We have such a diverse group of students and I enjoy being able to interact with everyone.

Jennifer Harrington (English)

What brought you to Salem?

I have taught at TCC for over 12 years. Recently, I decided to teach high school. I heard great things about Salem and was fortunate to be offered a job teaching English here.

What are some of your hobbies and interests?

I love practicing yoga, hiking, and traveling. I also teach hot yoga, hot vinyasa and certify upcoming yoga teachers. I cook when I want to unwind.

What is your favorite thing about working at Salem?

I love the students and the staff. It is a great school, and I am excited to be here. I am looking forward to this school year!

Joey Wood (PE)

1. What brought you to Salem?

Mostly football, I coach football here. And then also the opportunity to be able to be in PE. I have not taught PE before, so it’s new for me. I was in Chesapeake at Oscar Smith High School before. I love PE so much more.

2. What is your favorite thing about working here at Salem?

My favorite thing honestly is the kids, I mean they’re very respectful. They do their work, I don’t really have to argue with students like I had to at previous schools. I really enjoy the students a lot.

3. What are some of your hobbies and interests?

Football, coaching. I love to work out so that’s another thing I love about PE, getting to promote physical health, fitness, and mental health, emotional health. I’ve got a baby on the way, so I’ll be getting ready for a little baby boy. So I guess that’ll turn into part of what I do, something I’ll have to enjoy, hopefully.

Kathleen Pearson (Math)

What brought you to Salem?

I moved back to Virginia Beach to be closer to my family.

What are some of your hobbies and interests?

I love being outdoors. I enjoy hiking, running, and reading suspense book at the beach. I, also, enjoy spending time with my family and friends.

What is your favorite thing about working at Salem?

One of my favorite things about working at Salem is the students and their school spirit. The students and staff work together to create a positive atmosphere and I look forward being here every day!

Kimberly J. Craig (Ap Psych and World History)

What brought you to Salem?

Being closer to family and Norfolk Naval Shipyard brought me from Dallas, TX to Virginia Beach. I chose to work at Salem because I was very impressed with how important diversity, equity, inclusion and social emotional learning are here at Salem. It has a great vibe.

What are some of your hobbies and interests?

I was a dancer until I had kids and that is my favorite hobby but I haven’t had time for it much since. I’m hoping to get back into that soon, or at least Barre classes where I can workout with some dance incorporated. In the meantime, I love to read, hang out with friends, go to movies, and binge-watch crime shows.

What is your favorite thing about working at Salem?

The students. I love my classes and I’m so interested in each person’s story and their uniqueness. They have all made the transition from teaching in Texas to teaching here so smooth and pleasant. I love coming to work each day!

Kristina Berney (AVID)

1. What brought you to Salem?

I came to Salem to teach the AVID elective. While I am new to the course, I look forward to leveraging the AVID strategies to benefit Salem students, as the AVID system has been proven to promote student academic and behavioral growth for over forty years. For the last fourteen years I taught AP Psychology, and while I thoroughly enjoyed that course and am pursuing a Doctorate of Education in Educational Psychology, I wanted a new challenge and to push myself out of my comfort zone. One of the most appealing aspects of teaching the AVID elective is that I will get to get to work with the same students over the course of their high school career, building relationships and helping them set and achieve their goals.

2. What are some of your hobbies and interests?

My biggest passion is traveling. I love researching and planning trips, exploring new places, and trying new foods. One of my favorite trips was when I took six students to China (Beijing, Xi’an, and Shanghai) for ten days in 2018. I’m also interested in mindfulness and its potential to help with stress and promote mental health.

3. What is your favorite thing about working at Salem?

My favorite thing about working at Salem is how welcoming the staff has been and how accepting the students are of one another.

Marcus Johnson-Williams (History)

1. What brought you to Salem?

What brought me to Salem was an opportunity to teach social studies and coach football.

2. What is your favorite thing about working here at Salem?

The kids. I mean the kids here at Salem are very very great young people, and I feel as though they want to do a lot of good things and want to help assist if they can.

3. What are some of your hobbies and interests?

I’m an outdoorsman, and when I say outdoorsman I mean I fish, camp, hunt, and ride bikes. I’m kind of an outdoors kind of person. Hobbies are roller coasters, and just spending time with my friends and mostly my girls.

Michael Powers (Science)

1. What brought you to Salem?

I used to work with students as a manager at the Salem Crossing Chick-Fil-A a few years ago and I was excited to work with the students as a teacher.

2. What is your favorite thing about working here at Salem?

I love how diverse and engaged the student body is. The students here are very passionate about their interests!

3. What are some of your hobbies and interests?

I love to hike, read, exercise, travel, and watch sports.

Paul Xenakis (U.S History teacher)

What brought you to Salem?

I graduated from Kempsville High School so I’m looking for the opportunity to be able to come back to Virginia Beach and the community and I’m excited to work with the high school students that are here and members of the community so it’s been exciting so far.

What are some of your hobbies and interests?

I enjoy camping out in the mountains and hiking. Hopefully travel will be easier as the pandemic slows down. It’s a nice way to be outside too.

What is your favorite thing about working at Salem?

So far it has been great getting to know all the students, it’s an amazing faculty, the student body is amazing, all very very talented and I am looking forward to getting to know everybody better.

Rylee Toler (English)

What brought you to Salem?

Last year, I completed both my practicum and student teaching at Salem. I loved the atmosphere and energy of the students. I knew I wanted to work in a school like Salem.

What are some of your hobbies and interests?

Some of my hobbies are reading, running, and cooking.

What is your favorite part of working at Salem?

My favorite thing about working at Salem is the students. I enjoy getting to know students and build connections with them.

Sarina Sloorani (Attendance Secretary)

1. What brought you to Salem?

My husband works at Tallwood HS and I wanted to be his rival. Just kidding, I love working with students. Although I am the attendance secretary, I enjoy knowing I am part of a team that pushes for our students to be successful.

2. What are some of your hobbies and interests?

I am a gamer. I love to play games on my desktop every night. I play Call of Duty, Genshin Impact, Diablo, etc.

3. What is your favorite thing about working at Salem?

Aside from everyone here being so friendly, I love the Java Hut. I can always count on them for coffee in the morning!

Tamara Hamlin (Spanish)

What brought you to Salem?

Well I used to teach at Bayside Middle School and I decided I wanted to teach highschool and luckily I was offered a position to teach Bdays at Salem.

What are some of your hobbies and interests?

I like to ride my bike, I like to go to the beach, I have four dogs so I guess I really like dogs and I am a big reader. I like historical fiction and nonfiction. I read a lot of the classics like the things that you read in English class.

What is your favorite thing about working at Salem?

The students. I am so impressed with the students here. Mrs. Donohue, I knew her before, she’s another Spanish teacher here and she told me “Oh, the students here, you’re gonna love them!” and you know everybody says that about their school. But the students are perfect here, so good!

Tanna Ball (Reading)

What brought you to Salem?

My first few years teaching were right here at Salem High School. I went on to teach at Salem Middle in hopes of reaching students that needed support with reading at a younger age. In my heart, I was always a Sundevil and the opportunity opened for me to come back where I first began and teach in a place that I call home.

What are some of your hobbies and interests?

I love everything outdoors! I spend a lot of time hiking, camping and fishing with my family.

What is your favorite part of working at Salem?

There are so many things that make working here amazing! If I had to just pick one, I would say that being here to encourage and guide students with all of the choices they have ahead of them is my favorite. There is nothing more incredible than watching them walk across the stage at graduation and being able to celebrate them for achieving their goals!