Since Mr. Szparagowski entered BT’s sacred halls three years ago, he has quickly become one of the funniest and most friendly teachers at school. Students know him even if they are not in one of his classes as he makes an effort to get to know each and every student. Teaching in both the middle and high school, Mr. Szparagowski has a wide range of students. However, that does not stop him from attempting to build relationships with all of them, no matter their age or skill level. 

As part of our third installment of Teacher Profiles, I spoke with Mr. Szparagowski to learn more about him than just the math teacher we all know. Before working at BT, Mr. Szparagowski taught in Ohio. He moved to Baltimore to support his then fiance’s career with the Army Corp of Engineers. In order to decide on the right school for him, he looked at both public and private schools. However, none compared to BT. After completing a guest lesson during the interview process, Mr. Szparagowski “noticed how all of the students said thank you on their way out the door.” This surprised him as the level of respect that BT kids showed their teachers was unparalleled. It was his first impression of BT. The respect of BT students “means a lot” and Mr. Szparagowski noted several times how he “really appreciates it.” When asked if BT is different from other school’s, Mr. Szparagowski was quick to say “yes.” 

In his classes, Mr. Szparagowski puts a lot of emphasis on self-confidence and confidence in mathematics. As one of his current students, I know that whenever someone in my class is struggling, Mr. Szparagowski does everything he can to make them feel comfortable and smart. Ending every class with “I’m proud of you,” Mr. Szparagowski doesn’t hesitate to tell students that he appreciates their hard work and efforts. As much as he loves the “thank you” that each one of his students says at the end of class, I hope he knows that his students really appreciate whenever he says “I’m proud of you.” 

While I asked Mr. Szparagowski the normal “what’s your favorite color questions,” I think that it is seriously important to emphasize his care and bond with his students.  Every teacher at BT puts an enormous amount of effort in their personal relationships with classes and I hope that we can shed light on these special people throughout this article series. So, if you learned anything about Mr. Szparagowski, let it be his compassion for not only math, but for his students. 

When Mr. Szparagowski is not in school, he spends his time reading, playing video games and watching Netflix. One of the most unique activities that Mr. Szparagowski enjoys is wood carving. However, he is not making ordinary tables or chairs, he carves different math symbols. The last thing he made was a cool trefoil knot. 

Mr. Szparagowski also has two pets: a dog and a cat. His dog named Ryker was born on Pie Day. How cool is that? His cat River was found in a dumpster by a river. For some reason, they did not want to name her dumpster. 

I hope you all enjoyed learning about Mr. Szparagowski! If you have a specific teacher you would like to hear from next, leave a comment under this article.