This just in, there’s a new face around the MacDuffie campus! This year, MacDuffie only has one new faculty member; Mr. Camilo Fiore of Colombia has taken the position of Spanish teacher. With the departure of Mr. Kevin Saez last year, MacDuffie was ready and welcome with open arms for a new Spanish teacher. In a recent interview, he was asked about his experiences at MacDuffie so far. 

He has found that MacDuffie students are positive and “interested in learning” in general. He wants to provide students with tools to help them further their education in Spanish.

He expressed that he enjoys how openly students can express themselves at MacDuffie. “I like the atmosphere,” he says, “I came from a very religious school where a lot of viewpoints, and being original and expressing your political views or your thoughts and opinions were very toned down.”

The biggest challenge he has faced so far is dealing with the aftermath of the “revolving door” of Spanish teachers throughout MacDuffie’s recent years. He found it challenging to find a common place for everyone’s learning because of the lack of consistency in the way and pace students had learned from previous Spanish teachers. Mr. Fiore came from a program where benchmarks were put in place for levels of Spanish, making it much easier for new teachers to jump into teaching Spanish curriculums. 

Because of the expectations Mr. Fiore had for the students coming into MacDuffie, the students were a little hesitant about his arrival at first. He said, “I think the students were a little difficult at first. Mostly because I had certain expectations coming in and I tried to push a little too hard. I think now that we’ve settled into where I know we are and I think we should go, I think the students have been a lot more receptive and warm now that they know what I expect and I know what they can do.” He found that the faculty were very receptive and welcoming to him. 

Mr. Fiore said that his favorite class to teach was Spanish One, as he truly felt like they were his class. MacDuffie is happy to welcome Mr. Fiore to the faculty!