There are two different types of teachers. The “good teachers” are the welcoming, patient, and understanding educators, while the “not so good teachers” are the judgy, impatient, and uncaring educators. Jesse Thatcher falls under the category of the good teacher. 

UACHS mathematics teacher Jesse Thatcher is leaving our school within the next few months, and it will be a sad moment for the students and faculty that were fortunately given the chance to have and know him. As he departs, you can say that some of the school’s spirit is leaving with him. His never ending smile and cheerful attitude is what some students looked forward to, and always relied on to be here for the past 17 years. He is one of the few teachers you will never forget when you leave high school. 

“There are no words strong enough to indicate how much I have loved teaching at UACHS,” said Thatcher. “I have watched the school grow and improve, have met some of the most amazing teachers and staff in my life, have had the privilege to teach well over a thousand amazing students, and have become a better teacher along the way because of it.” 

Thatcher is moving to North Carolina for many different reasons, but the fact of the matter is that he is leaving and he will be missed.
“My wife and I both grew up in the New York metropolitan area and had always talked about moving somewhere that moved at a more leisurely pace,” said Thatcher. “One of the many places we liked was Asheville. It is a beautiful, small city nestled in the mountains of western North Carolina. A job opportunity to work down here opened up for my wife that was too good to pass up.”

Although he is moving out of the tri-state, Thatcher still plans on teaching once he moves. He was inspired to keep going by everything he experienced here.

“I’ve received my NC teaching certificate and plan to teach at the high school level again, which I love because of my experience at UA,” said Thatcher.

Despite teaching for so long, Thatcher didn’t always intend to become a teacher. He experimented with different majors, but it didn’t turn out the way he hoped.

“When I entered college I had no idea what I wanted to do. I thought about business and tried a few courses but it wasn’t for me,” said Thatcher. 

For the entire first year he had no idea what he wanted to do until a certain opportunity set the stones of his career choice in motion. 

 “When I was in my second year, I landed in a part time job tutoring math, which I was kind of good at,” said Thatcher. “ I loved being able to help a person understand something that they thought they would not be able to understand. This is when I knew I wanted to teach.” 

UACHS senior Ethan Edmilao, who has known Mr. Thatcher since he was a freshman, feels very sad by the sudden departure.

“When I first got to this school, I was originally put into Ms. William’s class. I ended up getting transferred into Mr. Thatcher’s class a few weeks later, and he still welcomed me with open arms. Despite being just a teacher that does his job, he always finds a way to make his class fun, due to his great energy,” said Edmilao.

Because he has been here for such a long time, there are a number of things that Thatcher will miss about this school. Whether they are minor or major things, every last one of them are meaningful.

“So much math has happened there it is amazing and the memory of the wonderful students I have met along the way will stay with me forever! I will miss the staff dearly, they are all wonderful and I have learned so much from them on this journey. I will miss the quiet before the storm when I would grade papers at 7:00 in the morning. I will miss after school tutoring because you never knew what current student or former student would drop by. I will miss it all. It was really more of a home than a school,” said Thatcher.

Thatcher impacted all of us at UACHS, and we thank him for that; he will be missed.