Teachers dedicate their lives towards educating, inspiring, and empowering young children every single day. 

Here at Wayne Hills, there are plenty of teachers deserving of honor, many of which students talk about as being their “favorites.” Though, there is notably one teacher who is loved by many of her students: Ms. Kalliopi Logothetis. 

High School Life to Now  

Ms. Logothetis  is a Wayne Hills alumni and was involved in numerous extracurricular activities during her time at Wayne Hills, ranging from sports to the arts. She played on the girls’ volleyball team all four years, as well as was a part of the symphonic band and jazz band. In the symphonic band, Logothetis played the bass clarinet, and continued with that interest after high school, even coming to Anthony Wayne Middle School in 2018 to join the band in their annual holiday performance. 

In the classroom, Logothetis took a particular interest in history and political courses. Throughout her four years of high school, she managed to take AP US History 1 and 2, AP European History, and AP US Government. These classes sparked her interest in history, and opened up her mind to the different ways she could approach being a history major. She appreciated the conversations transpiring in these classes and how they differed from traditional “bullet points on a board.” 

She especially enjoyed her sophomore AP US History 1 class, which was taught by Ms. Stofey at the time. She developed a close relationship with Ms. Stofey, who is actually Ms. Logothetis’ supervisor today.

Stofey watched her grow as a student and often guided her through her trivial failures, many of which she and Logothetis still laugh about today. 

As expected, the class had many moments of failure when it came time to assess. Stofey would always make the same funny, yet motivational, joke before students would take tests: “I called Harvard, I called Princeton, I called Yale… and they said that even if you fail this exam, they’ll still accept you into their school.” Despite the anxiety and frustration that came along with these exams, Logothetis admitted that Stofey’s usual speech always made her feel a lot better. 

Logothetis expressed that preserving her relationship with Ms. Stofey as well as with many other of her colleagues is a top priority for her. She values the quality of these relationships and works to maintain security in a comfortable teaching environment, and admitted that if otherwise, being an educator would be especially difficult. She said, with a smile, “I could just kind of walk in and people would just be like ‘It’s Kalli! It’s Ms. Logothetis! How is she?’” 

After College

Ms. Logothetis attended Seton Hall University to major in history and minor in women and gender studies, which she expressed was the “best decision” she made. She finds that these studies not only built the foundation for her career today, but allow her to incorporate minority voices in history into the conversation.  

Ms. Logothetis’ life after graduating from Seton Hall was the turning point in her career: she was considering becoming an educator, although she felt that it was the perfect time for her to potentially begin her journey with law. However, her applications to ivy league schools were rejected, leaving her with a tough decision: send out another round of applications to highly competitive schools, or give teaching a try. 

After spending a year as a student teacher, she decided that a career in education was for her. Yet still, emotional turmoil from her previous defeat carried on, and she took it to heart as any person would. But the fact was that Ms. Logothetis loved being a teacher, and with all of her students in mind, she felt secure in where she was at that moment. 

In the Classroom

At any time of the day, Ms. Logothetis might be teaching a different class. She teaches standard history courses such as freshmen Enriched World History, sophomore Enriched US History, and the sophomore AP US History I. In addition, she teaches two elective courses: Contemporary Issues and Human Rights. 

Teaching this wide variety of courses has changed Ms. Logothetis’ perspective on students’ educational needs. Not only does she teach about the history and foundation of our world today, but also addresses students’ interests and concerns about modern-day issues. She is most concerned with what her students will get out of her lesson, both in the moment, the near future, and decades from now. 

Ms. Logothetis tries her best to build an inclusive environment for all of her students. She feels that the classroom should be a place where students can learn both academically and socially, and that students cannot effectively learn from only “bullet points on a board.” In order for society to evolve productively, people need to be proactive, which she believes begins with a teacher and their students in the classroom. She expressed, “We can’t critically think if we’re sitting… just like waiting for answers to be made for us.” 

Culture 

Ms. Logothetis advises two clubs here at Wayne Hills: Model United Nations Club and the Cultural Appreciation Club.

As adviser of Model UN, Ms. Logothetis works with her students to most accurately simulate the United Nations General Assembly, and teaches students how to use the lens of their individual culture to better deal with the world around them. 

In September, the Culture Club honored Hispanic Heritage Month by playing a variety of games from Latin American countries, learning about their cultural dances, and sharing traditional flavors like salsa and chips. 

Logothetis’s appreciation for different cultures began with taking pride in her own Greek culture. Sometimes in class, she will share anecdotes, like how her last name “Logothetis” means “one who accounts, calculates, or ratiocinates–one who sets the word” in the Greek language, or what her experience was like visiting Greece over the summer, or how she was getting ready to perform in a Greek festival at her local church last spring. Her students are constantly showing interest in her Greek culture, so much that they offered to volunteer at the Greek festival and watch her performance. 

Ms. Logothetis’ culture inspired her to take on advising the Culture Club, but also to encourage students to discover whether or not they identify with a specific culture and to acknowledge other cultures around them. She said, “I always felt like there was always a culture of Wayne Hills, but not the cultures of students at Wayne Hills.”

Her goal is to highlight the individual cultures of students, and she stresses the importance of being willing to learn about different cultures and accept their differences in order for everyone to feel included and appreciated in the Wayne Hills community. 

At the end of the day, Ms. Logothetis’ goal is for her students to leave the classroom with the ability to be citizens of the larger world, and to build a productive environment through community, inclusivity, and education.