Photo courtesy of Mr. Howley

Among the new staff members at Cinnaminson High School this year is Mr. Jebidiah Howley, a special education teacher. Having graduated from nearby Haddon Township High School, Howley said he is excited to begin his teaching career as a Pirate. 

Howley said he was inspired to teach after helping his younger sister with homework when they were little. Noticing she needed some additional support, Howely said he enjoyed providing the extra assistance.  

After graduating from Haddon Township High School, Howley attended Rutgers Camden and majored in history with a minor in psychology. He subsequently received his master’s degree in special education from Rutgers Camden as well. 

“This is my first time teaching as one of the full-time employees,” Howley said. “I did a full year of student teaching last year at Highland High School, which is a big high school in [the] Blackwood District a lot farther from here.” 

According to Howley, he was convinced to apply for an opening at CHS after hearing about its great reputation from other teachers. 

“People I knew spoke insanely highly of the school,” Howley said. “As you can see, they only hired two new teachers this year because people want to stay here. The administration is fantastic, the staff is great, [the] work environment is awesome, and most importantly the kids are great. They work really hard here.”

As a new teacher, Howley said his favorite part about teaching is connecting and interacting with his students. Among his goals for the year is to make the classroom environment more interactive by appealing to students’ interests.

“I wanna make my learning environment fun and safe and try to make as best a connection as I can with all of our students and our staff.”

Since his classroom is upstairs, Howley said he is determined to move around the school more frequently so he can interact with more students and staff.  

Besides interacting with students in class and the hallways, Howley said he looks forward to seeing students involved in their clubs and sports. According to Howley, some of his hobbies when he was in high school included playing basketball and soccer, playing the tuba in the concert band and jazz band, and being a member of the National Honors Society and Interact Club.