Mr. Atchley, one of Page’s science teachers, has been announced as the Rookie Teacher of the Year. Mr. Atchley teaches both Chemistry and Earth and Environmental Science and is a first year teacher at Page. Before becoming a high school teacher, he worked for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in a reproductive biology lab. Mr. Atchley went to college at Davidson where he studied bioinformatics and microbiology from 2013 to 2017. He even played football for the Davidson Wildcats. When he is not teaching and planning lessons for his students, Mr. Atchley enjoys reading. One of his favorite books is East of Eden, but there are many other books that he enjoys just as much. The science teacher is also very involved in his church. Currently, Mr. Atchley is searching for a house with his fiancee.

On Friday, March 22, Mr. Atchley was surprised when administrators came into his room and gave him the Rookie Teacher of the Year award because he did not know that he was a candidate. This was given to the teacher, out of the many first year teachers of Page, who has been recognized as the most positive and hard-working during their time at the school. Last year, Ms. McKay who worked with the adaptive students class was given the title of Rookie Teacher of the Year, but the name is now passed on to Mr. Atchley. In a one-on-one interview, Mr. Atchley said that he wanted his students to “be generous every opportunity you [they] have.” He also wanted to thank his students for embracing him as a new teacher. Mr. Atchley, when asked how he liked Page, said that it is the best public school system to be a part of.