Staff Appreciation: Mr. Morgans

    As students, our experiences in school depend greatly on ourselves and those around us, peers and faculty. Staff Appreciation is a chain of articles, with weekly releases, to acknowledge and show gratitude for the faculty members that go above and beyond to better students’ experiences. This week, it has been decided that Staff Appreciation will acknowledge Mr. Morgans, a JTAHS math teacher of 21 years. 

Unbeknownst to many students, Mr. Morgans was born and raised in Tamaqua. He attended Marian Catholic and then Bucknell University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. During his time in college, Mr. Morgans also played football. After graduating, he became a warehouse supervisor, which he continued doing until an unfortunate forklift accident. He then decided to go back to school to become a math teacher, due to his mathematical skill and the reliability of always having a job. Mr. Morgans and his wife, Barbara, have two sons, Justin and Ryan, and three daughters, Sara, Abigail, and Emma. Mr. Morgans spent his first five years teaching at Blue Mountain, prior to his upgrade to Jim Thorpe, where he has been a mathematical veteran for the past two decades.

Currently, Mr. Morgans teaches Honors Pre-Calculus, Geometry, LCCC Intermediate Algebra, and LCCC College Algebra. When asked what he enjoys about teaching in Jim Thorpe, Mr. Morgans’s response included the math department, other faculty and administrators, and the students. As one of the few teachers who does after school tutoring for students, Mr. Morgans is available on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2:30 PM in room 302 to help anyone struggling with mathematical concepts. Generally, all students can think of one or more extra notable teachers they have had. While Mr. Morgans is clearly now that teacher to many, he was greatly influenced by the mathematical teaching styles of Sister Sacorroa and Mr. Hubber when he was a student. Sister Sacorroa taught Mr. Morgans for three years at Marian Catholic, and Mr. Hubber taught him for one. From Sister Sacorroa, Mr. Morgans gets his infamous homework quizzes. Many, if not all, of the students who are not taught by Mr. Morgans on a daily basis can recall him for his recent triumph in Jim Thorpe’s annual pie eating contest. 

“Mr. Morgans utilizes language and methods of teaching that greatly help students fully comprehend material, not just memorize steps and formulas.” -statement made by an Honors Pre-Calculus student

It is important to always show due acknowledgment to those who work hard to help us in life, so to all of his students, current and former, make sure to give appreciation to Mr. Morgans for how he may have impacted your academic journey. 

If there is a faculty member that you believe goes above and beyond that you want to see acknowledged in an article, share the name and contact information of this person with gabriella.cerra@jtasd.org.

-Gabriella Cerra, Writer