By Sameer Kini
Sports Editor

Science teacher Jim Casserly has completed 35 years of teaching at Westford Academy. Today, he teaches Honors Anatomy and Physiology, Human Biology and First Aid, and CP Biology. Throughout his tenure at WA, Casserly has taught other subjects as well, such as Environmental Science and Chemistry.

Casserly has spent his entire teaching career in Westford and has no regrets about it. Casserly cites the good students and wonderful faculty as major reasons for his enjoyment of his continuing time at WA. He enjoys the comfort and respect he receives here and calls the staff and the students the “best of the best.”

Casserly always looks forward to teaching because he truly enjoys it, and he says it helps to keep him young. In fact, Casserly is always being told to “act his age” by his wife, because of the effect that teaching for so long has had on him. Casserly says that he still has no plans for retiring and intends to continue teaching for many more years.

Over 35 years, Casserly has experienced many highs and lows, all of which have contributed to his lasting memories of his students and the school. He can still clearly remember tragic moments that he has seen, such as deaths of students as well as those of fellow faculty members. Despite these sad times, Casserly says he also remembers other positive moments he has spent with students.

As Casserly has been teaching at WA for so long, he has seen quite a bit of change in the way teaching is done. He cites all the new technology as tools that have allowed teaching to become better for both the students and the teachers. He believes that the access to technology in the classroom is phenomenal. Casserly has witnessed other changes too, such as the switch to the current Westford Academy building. Also, he has seen the student population double, but he insists that the students are still as friendly and accepting as ever.

Overall, Casserly feels blessed to have had the opportunity to teach in Westford. He cites how teachers dream about getting to teach here because it is just “so good.” He says that he never really wanted to teach anywhere else because of the support he receives here from both his students and his peers.

Casserly does not even want to think about retiring because he is having “too much fun” anyway.