In her 19 years as a guidance counselor at AHS, Linda Wheeler has memories of all the students and faculty whom she has worked with. Yet, one student from 1997 stands out from all the others. As she begins to pack up her office and say her goodbyes, the memory of a student that was taken in by a fellow faculty member still enters her mind every day.

Mariam Salad, a refugee from Somalia, arrived in New York alone at the age of 15. After being forced to move out from her cousin’s apartment due to her cousin’s inappropriate boyfriend, Wheeler asked teachers to help find a shelter or donate items through a letter in their mailboxes for Salad. What ended up astonishing her and creating an inspiring story was when former AP History teacher Eleanor Shoemaker offered to take in Salad.

“[Salad] stays in my mind because her story was dramatic, compelling and unusual,” Wheeler said. “It’s not everyday that a faculty member would offer to take in a student like that. I think it definitely reflects how the faculty here is so helpful and caring of each other and the students.”

Wheeler has worked with FCPS for 33 years. She was an elementary school teacher for seven years at Forestdale Elementary School and a high school teacher for seven years at Chantilly High School and Falls Church High School. Wheeler was both a learning disabilities and “special projects” teacher.

“I always liked getting up in the morning to go to school,” Wheeler said. “It never felt like ‘work work.’ It’s really unique.”

Besides being a guidance counselor, Wheeler was also the club sponsor for the SAFE club, a club dedicated to educating students about HIV, AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Wheeler plans to work part-time after her retirement in adult education or as a mentor for teaching interns at George Mason University. She also plans to take care of her dogs as they face aging challenges or play the piano.

“It’s really hard for me to leave, but it’s time,” Wheeler said. “I will never ever forget the gifts AHS has given me.”

Viloria

While English teacher Sarita Viloria prepares to move to California with her husband and newborn baby girl, her legacy of an improved cheer program and teaching her students will remain at AHS. Viloria was hired in 2007, but had to start a year and a half later in order to care of her ill father, who later passed away.

“The fact that the school held my job for one and a half years speaks largely about AHS’s character,” Viloria said. “The school really supports its staff at difficult times.”

“AHS is a great school; I’ll miss working with the talented faculty,” Viloria said. “There’s lots of encouragement and positive energy. I like the diversity in the student body, it’s generally a happy environment that I’m going to miss.”

In addition to missing the students and faculty, Viloria will also miss seeing her cheerleaders grow and flourish. She regrets that she will not be able to have the sophomores she taught last year as seniors next year.

Viloria’s husband has been commissioned to be an Air Force Judge Advocate General Officer at the Beale Air Force Base in California. Viloria will finish up the school year and leave for California in late September.

Due to the budget crisis in California, Viloria will not continue to be a teacher.

“Teaching jobs are very difficult to find,” Viloria said. “The county we’ll be living in isn’t even hiring anyone for the next school year.”

Instead, Viloria will be a stay-at-home mom and might even consider resuming her professional cheerleading career with the Sacramento Kings.

“Becoming a pro cheerleader again is not definite, but it’s a possibility,” Viloria said.

Guffey

As a military wife, English teacher Stefanie Guffey should be used to leaving schools every two years. Yet she still began to tear up as she spoke of her students and co-workers that she will miss.

“I’m going to miss all my students, their personalities, their hard work and their effort to be successful,” Guffey said. “I’m also going to miss the community.”

At the end of 2011, she gave birth to a girl named Amelia, who she will spend much of her time taking care of as she continues teaching online as she does now while she waits for another job at home. Guffey will find out where she is moving in August when her husband gets his job assignment.

“I’m very sad to leave, but unfortunately that’s the nature of the beast.”

Jarvis

As both a teacher and an AHS alumnus, the decision to leave AHS was very difficult for science teacher Neal Jarvis. Known for his joking relationship with students and faculty, Jarvis will miss these interactions most when he leaves for Centreville HS.

“Some of the best memories I have of AHS are the playful banter exchanged at the lunch table in the science workroom,” Jarvis said.

Jarvis was very involved with the AHS community, serving as the head swim coach for four years and a Science National Honor Society sponsor for six years.

He will be taking a job as a science teacher at Centreville HS. Jarvis chose to leave because the commute to Centreville would be much shorter than the commute to AHS. Although he was offered the swim coach job at Centreville, Jarvis declined.

“I felt that taking the job seemed too disloyal to the swimmers here,” Jarvis said.

Lemus

Science teacher Claudia Lemus will be relocating to Seattle because of her husband’s work after teaching freshman and IB biology for 11 years.

“I will hopefully teach in Seattle; I plan to look for a job over the summer,” Lemus said. “I’ll probably end up teaching freshman biology like I do now.”

Lemus has also been the club sponsor for the Science National Honor Society since 2006.

“When I leave AHS, I’m going to miss teaching IB Biology the most because I’m not sure if I’ll find the same position in Seattle. I love the overall diversity of the school and the students as well.”

Chmura

When math teacher Gail Chmura first came to AHS in 1988, she never expected to have such a deep relationship with the AHS community. Now, she retires with three daughters and one son-in-law having graduated from AHS and serving as the  math department chair for 10 years.

“For every student I’ve ever taught, I have their pictures on my wall,” Chmura said. “I’ve never had a student I didn’t get along with.”

Chmura retired in order to spend more time with her family and not wake up so early in the morning. She plans to start playing the cornet again and learn how to use her embroidery sewing machine.

“My fondest moment as a teacher is when a few of the ESOL students that I taught ended up going to college,” Chmura said. “They came into the class thinking they couldn’t do math and proved themselves wrong. To be able to have helped them do so is one of the best feelings a teacher can have.”