Despite many years of teaching, putting up with rowdy students all day, coaching/adivising in the afternoons and then grading late at night, there are many teachers who have stuck with their career for multiple decades. Bill Davies, Dale Massey, Kirk Sunitch, Tim Barnes and Tammy Murphy all fall into this category. In addition to having impacted the lives of thousands of students, these teachers have been role models and mentors for many of their peers. They truly are the “Original Gangster” (OG) teachers at Cascade High School.
“When you help a student for college and career, if they succeed you feel like you are a part of it,” elaborated Mr. Sunitch.
Bill Davies has been a beloved teacher at Cascade High School for 31 years. “I’ve never grown up and because of that maybe I get along with kids better than adults sometimes,” explained Mr. Davies. Being a high school math teacher is a hard job to pursue, but Davies has persisted and shown many students that although math may not be important to them, it is very important to him.
Kirk Sunitch is the Career and Technical Education (CTE) coordinator and the CHS Finance and Business teacher. “He’s done a tremendous job at making our CTE program thrive,” exclaimed Bill Davies. For all the years Mr. Sunitch has been at Cascade he's put a lot of effort into growing the CTE program at the high school. He has a passion for career and technology education. “When you help a student for college and career, if they succeed you feel like you are a part of it,” elaborated Mr. Sunitch.
Dale Massey is a long-time Astronomy, Calculus and Physics teacher at Cascade High School. He is also the head cross-country coach, advisor for Knowledge Bowl and Sustainability club, and a confidant for many students at Cascade. “Massey’s passion and expertise in his many fields of knowledge is impressive to say the least,” said Paige Runions (11).
Mr. Massey has been teaching at Cascade for many years. “Realistically [I became a teacher], because I enjoy working with young people and feeling like I can make a difference,” Massey expressed.
Tim Barnes is the CHS Athletic Director but worked in the office as an administrative assistant and before then at Icicle River Middle School. “He is much better than [other people who have filled the position] as an athletic director,” explained Jonah Bowles (10). While working hard, Barnes always has a cheerful smile and is willing to chat with students and staff. He can easily be found in either the office or at any school sporting event.
“Ever since I was in elementary school and I had a couple male teachers in a predominantly female profession, I got inspiration from them and said I want to do the same thing,” described Mr. Barnes.
Tammy Murphy teaches as the Digital Communications and Computer Science teacher at Cascade, while also manning the Student Store alongside Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA). “She seemed dedicated to our understanding Office 365 skills and offered a wonderful classroom experience,” said Savanna Rowles (11). In addition to working as a teacher, Murphy worked as a network administrator for the district before. “The district had an opening for a teaching position and asked me to fill it, so I took it and I quit my other job,” said Murphy.
While teaching curriculum is a very large part of most of their jobs so are the students. These teachers value the wellbeing of all their students and care about how they are doing in school.
Sadly, CHS can't keep these teachers forever, some of these wonderful teachers will be retiring soon with Bill Davies leaving at the end of the 2023-2024 school year. “He makes learning fun for me with his bright soul and attitude,” expressed Jewel Leroy (10), talking about her experience in Davies’s class. As these teachers leave, they will not be forgotten by CHS.
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