Thomas Ladd is in his 30th year of teaching, coaching and leading at the Averill Park Central School District, and will be retiring this month.
Mr. Ladd taught High School Math and Science for 25 years, Middle School Math for two years and served as an Instructional Coach (Math/Science K-12) for three years.
Outside of the classroom, he coached freshmen, junior varsity and varsity boys’ soccer for 14 years. Mr. Ladd was also the boys’ varsity basketball assistant coach for two years, a Key Club advisor for three years and a Sunday Ski Club advisor for two years.
“My favorite part of the job is the same as the reason why I became a teacher – motivating and encouraging students to succeed,” he said. “I love to witness the ‘lightbulb coming on’ when students grasp a concept.”
Mr. Ladd will always fondly remember the yearly trips to Six Flags New England for Physics of Phun, which was his favorite day of the year. He also enjoyed the day-to-day interactions with students and especially enjoyed the pumpkin launchers.
“I will miss the camaraderie that I experienced at the high school and middle school in the Science and Math departments,” he said.
Mr. Ladd doesn’t have any set plans for his retirement, other than being a chauffeur for his children.
