Ms. Lauren Kostoff, Special Education
Kostoff reminisces about her past at Strath Haven while looking forward to her future at the high school.
After graduating from Strath Haven in 2005, Ms. Lauren Kostoff came back to teach Reading Intervention classes in a school that in some ways, has remained unchanged for her.
“The building was brand new my freshman year, I think,” Kostoff said. “And a lot of my teachers are still here. So good to see them all, like Mr. [Kevin] Haney, Mrs. [Amanda] Lawson, Mr. [Richard] Fould…Mr. Haney made fun of me because I kept calling him Mr. Haney.”
It was difficult for her to adjust to seeing her old teachers as her new coworkers. However, she was able to quickly adapt to other changes that have appeared since her time as a student.
“I mean, kids are a lot different now,” Kostoff said. “The technology’s new for me, to adjust to a kid on their phone all day, with their AirPods in. So just kind of setting that boundary was hard my first day.”
Kostoff works on reading and comprehension skills with her students as a reading intervention and English teacher.
She was previously employed at Las Americas Aspira Academy, which is a K-8 school located in Delaware.
“I’m used to constantly talking, asking questions, so that’s been nice, to talk to older kids and have full conversations,” Kostoff said.
At her other school, she worked with more people on a daily basis, so more team meetings and planning were involved there than here. Although she enjoys the freedom of getting to set her own pace, the theme of connection at her old school is something she’d like to see more of at SHHS.
“I know it’s different at high school,” Kostoff said. “Kids don’t really want to do all that stuff. But I think it’s important to do at every age, so it’s just building a stronger community.”
The Haven community can be strong and supportive in its own way, as Ms. Kostoff learned.
“I share a room with Mrs. [Diane] Condon, and she’s been very sweet and helpful. She’s just really kind so it’s nice to know I have that,” she said.
It can be a struggle for new teachers to get used to the block schedule, but Kostoff values the extra moments she gets from it.
“I love the starting time because I have three kids who wake up very early, so it’s easy for me to get out of the house early,” she said. “It’s been nice adjusting to it because I’m able to now get my kids off the bus, but I couldn’t do that before. So yeah, I love the block scheduling.”
