For English teacher Melanie Fisher, Baldwin has always been an important place.
“My husband and I both grew up in Baldwin-Whitehall, graduated from Baldwin, and we are raising our family here,” Fisher said.
After high school, she attended California University of Pennsylvania, where she studied English education. Her inspiration to become a teacher, though, started much earlier, in a class taught by Nancy Foote, mother of Baldwin social studies teacher Adam Foote.
“Mrs. Foote, who was my second grade teacher, inspired me to become a teacher,” Fisher said.
Her love for English and reading started in her freshman year, and that has carried over into her teaching career. She will be teaching one of her favorite books this year, The Great Gatsby.
“I always love reading The Great Gatsby. I read that once a summer,” Fisher said. “Right now I’m more into mystery and stuff like that, but Gatsby has always been my favorite.”
Outside of books, Fisher’s life outside of teaching revolves around family and sports.
“Much of my free time is spent at high school baseball and volleyball games,” Fisher said.
Over the past 20 years, Fisher has taught both middle school and high school in English and special education. Her years of experience allow her to connect with students at different levels and guide them through a love of literature.
Fisher said sharing her love of reading is what she enjoys most about teaching, and it is her end goal for her students
“I want them to fall in love with reading because you can just get lost in it,” Fisher said.
