After 25 dedicated years, English teacher Mrs. Laurie Hyland said a heartfelt goodbye to Cinnaminson High School at the end of October. Her career here at CHS, though having its ups and downs, was filled with everlasting memories. Hyland filled a diverse range of roles; she served as a former co-class advisor with Mr. Gill, Interact co-advisor, and taught almost every English literature course offered at CHS, including AP Literature and the Holocaust in Literature elective.
Hyland’s roots began outside of Hammonton, New Jersey in Cedarbrook, roughly 30 miles southeast of Cinnaminson, where she attended St. Joe’s High School. After graduating from high school, Hyland then took her studies to LaSalle University where she said she hoped to pursue a communications major.
“I always wanted to be a news reporter,” Hyland said.
Though fate brought her to her true calling: English.
“LaSalle’s journalism department was more geared to, like, not the type of journalism that I was considering. And so I changed my major to English secondary education, and what really prompted me with that is I always loved English in high school.”
Hyland credits her passion for English to her high school teacher, Maddie Gold.
“I think I literally had her for all four years of high school because it was a small school. And she just made you think about things in a deeper way – I just really liked it,” Hyland said. “And so, I was like, ‘You know what? I’ll be an English major.’ And I switched my major my sophomore year.”
After discovering her love for English, Hyland began developing her teaching philosophy while student teaching at St. Hubert’s Catholic High School for Girls in northeast Philadelphia. She said she was greatly inspired by her mentors there.
“I had two really great cooperating teachers when I student taught, and I still keep in touch with them… Mrs. McKey and Miss Lewis… they were very different from each other, but I loved the way both of them taught and the relationship that they had with their students.”
One teacher, however, left a lasting impression.
“In particular, Therese Lewis, she was very, like, sarcastic and funny, and I think that I adopted that quality… trying to relate to the kids more through humor… I would have to say they were my role models for teaching.”
Before joining Cinnaminson High School, Hyland spent her first 11 years teaching in Philadelphia for the Archdiocese, moving between several schools, including St. Hubert’s, Little Flower, and the former Bishop Egan, an all-boys high school. She then taught at Bishop Eustace in Pennsauken for three years before beginning her 25-year tenure at Cinnaminson, which she admittedly had some unease about before starting.
“What sets Cinnaminson apart is that, you know, it’s a public school. So, I had only a private Catholic school experience. I was anxious at first. I didn’t go to public school myself. All of my education was Catholic school education,” Hyland said.
However, Cinnaminson’s welcoming and supportive nature quickly eased Hyland’s initial nerves.
“But after the first few months, it was like I had always been here, and it kind of taught me that kids are kids. It doesn’t matter if they’re wearing a uniform or not wearing a uniform.
Teenagers are teenagers, right?” Hyland said. “And but what I do love about the uniqueness of Cinnaminson is some of the special things we do to you know, just bring the kids and the faculty together.”
Hyland’s teaching style, though, has never been static. In fact, it’s evolved over her career, tailoring her approach to each student and truly trying to connect with her students on a deeper level.
“There are people who are very regimented, organized. And every day have the same way of going about something. But I feel I like to talk to my students, and I like to get their feedback on things, and depending upon the level of the student, like getting involved in some of the deeper aspects of literature,” Hyland said. “I like trying to make connections with the students. I feel like I have a good rapport with the students, and then that helps to hopefully get what I’m teaching, the content, like that they’ll want to know it more or want to study it and know it the way I do.”
Though she never taught an AP Language and Composition class, she taught all four grade levels and nearly every English literature course offered at CHS over her 25 years One of her favorites was the Holocaust in Literature elective.
“I really had no background in it. I didn’t go to college to study that in particular, but it’s just something that always tugged on my heart, you know? And, like, that people need to know about what happened so that history doesn’t repeat itself,” Hyland said.
Hyland’s passion for teaching bled through all her classes, leaving lasting impressions on all her students.
“I love aspects of each level… I love teaching British Lit to seniors, but I also love freshmen and sophomore curriculums. I love Fahrenheit 451, The Crucible, and The Great Gatsby… So it’s hard to say—I really enjoy all levels,” Hyland said.
Reflecting on her retirement, Hyland described the experience as bittersweet. She said she looks forward to spending more time with her family, including her two grandchildren, and exploring new opportunities, but saying goodbye to the people and the connections she made along the way made the parting difficult.
“I will miss, I think most importantly… You’re gonna make me cry. I’ll miss you guys. I will. I mean, I’ve had some really amazing students that I’ve met here over the years. I’ll miss my friends. I have a great group of people here who have become like family because I’ve been here so darn long,” Hyland said.
Hyland found it difficult to single out individuals, noting that nearly every class left a lasting impression. She spoke about the lessons she learned from students’ perseverance and the connections she formed with entire classes.
“I truly have had some of the most amazing people that I have met here… I’ve had kids who have made me very appreciative of the life I had, who persevere every day despite the situations they come from,” Hyland said. “There’s just probably too many to name who’ve left an impact on me. You know, I’ve had favorite classes, like the class of 2007 was probably one of my favorite classes. 2016, 2017, 2022… we just had a bond. I don’t know how to explain it.”
She also recalled individual students who left a special mark on her heart, including one from a previous school.
“One of my students…her name was Monica DeLuca, and it was when I taught at Little Flower, and she had cancer,” Hyland said. “Other kids always used her as an example because I thought, like, you know, it’s like, ‘I have a hangnail. I can’t come in.’ Or, like, ‘I’m just tired, I can’t come in.’ And she was going through, you know, some great hardships, and she still managed to come in and be pleasant and do what she had to do. And I’ll never forget that kid.”
Hyland said she believes that when it comes to being a Pirate, it’s all about the sense of community, working together, and especially CHS’s school spirit.
“You know, that it’s neat to say, like when you run into people, and it’s like, ‘Oh, I went to Cinnaminson,’ or, ‘My so-and-so went to Cinnaminson.’ And they say it with such pride. And so, I think that, you know, I am lucky. I’m fortunate to have been a part of it for 25 years.”
Hyland emphasized that her students were genuinely cared for, not only by her but by all the teachers at Cinnaminson, who truly want the best for them. She leaves with countless cherished memories and will look back on her years at CHS with great fondness.
Hyland advises future students to take school seriously. Having an open mind and willingness to be present will get one a long way, but most importantly, the way one treats others is the true reflection of their character.
“I would like students to know that it is always best to be kind to others and treat them with respect. I have always tried to do that even when it’s difficult to do so,” Hyland said, “I would like to think that students that I have taught over the years know that about me. Teachers don’t remember what your GPA was, but they do remember how you treated others.”
