This article was written by Ava Fitzgerald who is a junior in the Journalism class. This article was written as part of the “New Faces” series that recognizes new staff members to the U32 Community.
Matthew Cecere didn’t always want to be a U.S History teacher. He originally wanted to be an artist. Then, during his middle school years he wanted to be a writer. Those dreams never fully diminished. But when he was in high school, he realized his love for history and teaching.
This year Matthew is a long term sub for Christiana Martin, who is home on maternity leave.
He was born in New Jersey, and moved to Montpelier when he was one. He graduated Montpelier high school, then went on to go to UVM for his undergraduate, and got his masters at St. Michael’s College.
In high school, his favorite classes were ones that were more engaging, like jazz band and theater. This has affected the way he teaches in his own classroom. “I try to make sure that it’s interactive, and student-driven,” he said.
One of his favorite classes was AP US history. Matthew enjoys doing random research and “falling down a Wikipedia wormhole for an evening”.
He also likes several sports including tennis and cycling, and also enjoys spending time outside. He and his dad have made multiple bike tours from Philadelphia to Gettysburg, and from Burlington to Quebec and back.
This is his first official year of being a teacher, after tutoring in the Montpellier school district. He did his student teaching last year at Burlington high school. The school year was anything but normal, especially when they discovered that there were toxic chemicals in the school and they were forced to go fully remote.
After some problem-solving, the school moved downtown into the old Macy’s building and held classes there. “That was kind of a unique experience there for my student teaching,” he said.
Another thing Matthew cares about is the environment and related social issues. “It’s all going to be for naught if we can’t live in a healthy and safe environment,” he said, “I think with education, we have the power to do that.”
