It seems like every year new teachers come to the school from many different backgrounds; this year is no exception. Twelve new teachers and counselors joined the staff at Camas High School in the fall. This particular passage focuses on Mr. Josef Hoffman.
Hoffman is a special education geometry teacher for kids with autism and other disabilities. He came to CHS from Battleground where he taught English for five years. Though he has many years of teaching experience, this will be his first year teaching math.
While he is currently a teacher, he did not always know he wanted to teach. In 2006, he graduated from Portland State University with a degree in English. However, as Hoffman said, “that doesn’t really get you a job.” Instead, he worked as the assistant manager for Walgreens for a year. After that, he decided to go back to school to obtain his master’s degree in teaching at Lewis and Clark College. He worked part-time as an English teacher at Tigard High School but decided to move to Ontario, Oregon, for a full-time teaching job in order to have his own classroom. “I was willing to go anywhere in the state to get one [his own classroom],” he said. After moving back to Portland, he worked as a substitute teacher for a couple years, eventually getting his special education endorsement. Since then, he has worked as both a behavior teacher and English co-teacher at Battleground High School for a combined total of five years.
When he is not teaching, he loves to ride his bike on the many trails around the area; he even helps make the trails himself. Recently, he got on the counsel for Cold Creek Mountain Bikers, a group that maintains and creates new trails on Larch Mountain. In addition to being an avid biker, Hoffman used to be a percussionist in the Rose City Gay Freedom Band, but now he plays drums in the Rose City Swing Band. Between mountain biking and music, his schedule is pretty full outside of school.
If you see Mr. Hoffman in the halls or somewhere around, please give him a warm welcome to Camas High School.
