Passionate, caring, dedicated, hilarious, smart and personable. These are a few words that are used to describe five year Key Club advisor, ten year class advisor and AP Literature teacher Tonja Reischl whose fifteen years at Liberty have come to an end but leave behind a great legacy.
“Reischl is freaking smart,” social studies teacher Amy Cooke said. “If I was going to give her a grade for being a teacher and a person, I would give her an A.”
Out of the staff at Liberty, Reischl is somebody that teachers go to for advice with lesson plans or ways to interact with students, whether they are in the English department or not.
“Reischl has left her stamp on Liberty,” English teacher Henry Level said. “Every teacher is better because of her. Whether it’s because we stole something from her for lesson plans, or a technique for working with students, every teacher is better.”
While the staff will remember her for all of her great advice, students will remember Reischl for her personality and her love for English.
“Her class is about learning to be passionate about English and how it can impact our lives,” senior Clara Bardot said. “She taught me to really enjoy English even though I didn’t necessarily think it would be my favorite subject.”
In all the content of her class, from Hamlet to Metamorphosis, students feel that she makes an effort to ensure that everyone gets the most from the curriculum.
“Even if we don’t understand something, we’re laughing if she’s laughing,” senior Jacqueline Rayfield said. “She will reread passages over and over just because she thinks they’re so funny.”
Along with the large impact that she left with Liberty, Reischl has made many unforgettable memories in her fifteen years of teaching.
“Students are curious and enjoy the banter and the personal aspect of the classroom,” Reischl said. “I definitely associate Liberty with that and students like that.”
When asked to describe how he feels about Reischl leaving, Level said, “She betrayed us all, but there’s no better colleague than Reischl. This is going to be a hard void to fill.”