Rachele Raloff is the English Co-Department Chair, along with teaching AP Literature, American Literature, and AP Seminar.

“The day to day can be scattered, every day is a little bit different,” Raloff said. “Multitasking is the biggest part of being a teacher and just shifting from all the different student needs in each class to different classes and different curriculum, and especially a lot of essay grading to support students that way.”

While being an English teacher, Raloff is the sponsor for the Chess Club. Raloff restarted the chess club after it took a long break. 

“I started a chess club because my son plays chess at St Mary’s, and they have a really strong chess team. I noticed a lot of kids were coming to the high school, and they weren’t playing chess anymore,” Raloff said. “I reached out and found some kids who said that they would lead it up. Once we started a chess club, I think our first meeting we had about 40 kids who showed up.”

With English classes, a lot of students may struggle with the amount of reading and writing required. For teachers like Raloff, it’s important to help them so they can get through the class.

“I try to acknowledge when I know students are struggling instead of just glossing over it,” Raloff said. “I try to meet them part way, like ‘Okay, I know this is really hard, but this is what I’m going to try to do to make your life a little bit easier.’ So then they understand that I do care about them, and I really do want the best for them, and that we can always work together to grow and to make life a little easier.”

Since 2007, Raloff has been working at CPHS. Between English, AP Seminar, being Co-Department chair, and chess club, Raloff keeps her hands full.