Teacher Spotlight: 8th Grade English Teacher Mr. Andrew Glaser

Mr. Andrew Glaser is one of the newest members of the PA Distance family. After going to school for a Public Relations degree and later entering the workforce, he quickly realized that teaching was his real calling and went back to school to get his certification.

As an 8th grade English teacher at PA Distance learning, Mr. Glaser has 4 sections of classes with about 25 students each. For each of his classes, he focuses on teaching literature analysis and grammar. This summer will mark his first full year of teaching at PA Distance.

“My favorite part [about being a teacher] is interacting with the kids. Getting to know them and building a respect,” Mr. Glaser explained.

Before he made PA Distance his home, Mr. Glaser taught in Charleston, South Carolina for a year. As a Pittsburgh native, Mr. Glaser was determined to come back and teach where he grew up. When he was offered a job at PA Distance, he gladly accepted and was excited to learn more about a cyber school environment.

After teaching at PA Distance for just a short time, he’s noticed a lot of benefits.

“It’s nice that I get more time to focus on content. In a brick a mortar school you dedicate too much time to do other things like handling discipline issues and other responsibilities,” he said.

He also noted that because all of the teachers are housed in one location, it creates a focus on collaboration.

“Collaboration is important at PA Distance. If teachers collaborate you have more people to bounce ideas off of,” he explained.

“PA Distance is really dedicated to parent involvement,” he also said. “We have an entire department staffed with people who interact with parents and get them involved in different ways,” he added.

Mr. Glaser has also heard his fair share of misconceptions about PA Distance from his friends and other people he has met during his time as a teacher.

A popular misconception among the general public is that PA Distance, and cyber school students as a whole, don’t get the social interactions that traditional schools offer.

“People think we never see our kids but that's not true,” he noted.

To address that, Mr. Glaser explained, “It’s not just coming to an online class. There's a lot more. There are field trips, after school clubs, and other opportunities to interact with other students.”

“We have a lot of options for kids to express themselves,” he added and noted that there are a lot of unique opportunities for students to get involved outside of class. For example, PA Distance offers students an opportunity to become a fellow in the Odyssey Fellowship program (previously outlined in this blog post).

“Right now, I’m helping some of my students write a book for the Odyssey Fellowship Program,” Mr. Glaser explained. “It will actually get published, too,” he added.

“In my opinion, PA Distance actually offers students more opportunities to learn and to get involved in things that interest them than any other school.” he said, proudly.

For more information about PA Distance Learning Charter School, explore our website or reach out to our enrollment team at enrollment@padistance.org