Sadly, it is time to say a bittersweet goodbye to one of Pascack Valley’s beloved English teachers. 

Mrs. Catherine Drakakis, an English teacher and the Theatre Arts teacher here at PV, has been teaching in the district for 31 years. An exclusive retirement party was held for her in the library a few weeks ago with close to 40 or 50 guests. 

Believe it or not, she did not begin her career as a teacher. After graduating from NYU, Drakakis first went into business and started working for the Rockefeller Foundation fresh out of college. Eventually, she got a job in marketing and advertising, but teaching has always been her passion.

Having a career in marketing and advertising was definitely not easy, according to Drakakis.

“I was traveling my whole life,” she said.

She wanted to settle down and start a family.

“Let me give it a try and see if I can fulfill that desire [to teach],” she said.

In the November after her daughter was born, Drakakis received a call from Pascack Hills High School where she was interviewed and was hired.

She has been teaching in the Pascack Valley Regional High School district ever since and does not miss wearing business suits one bit. Although she enjoyed the excitement of business, she felt that the traveling was becoming too much.

“I just felt that this [teaching] was my calling. I love my classroom, and I love working with teenagers,” Drakakis said.

She has been influenced by many people along the course of her journey to become an instructor. The people who have made her the teacher are her biggest role models, her teachers from when she was in school.

“Some of my personal teachers that date back to high school [have shaped me into who I am today.] I don’t even recall elementary, but I have to say that I was very very impressed with my English high school teacher Mr. DeNoia whose name I remember, that was just so inspirational to me,” she said.

She can even remember one of the books that her English teacher Mr. DeNoia taught, called “A Streetcar Named Desire”, which she believes was taught to her at the tenth grade level. Drakakis was actually able to then teach the book as well, throughout parts of her teaching career.

She originally began teaching at Pascack Hills because a teacher there had recently left. However, there were more students attending PV, and there was a need for a teacher to be taken from Hills. Since Drakakis was the youngest and newest teacher at the time, she was transferred. She has swung back and forth between PV and PH for a number of years as well.

Being a teacher for such a long time allows for many amazing memories to be created, which Drakakis has been kind enough to share with the Smoke Signal.

“I want to say some of my fondest memories relate right back in the classroom because I’ve always loved the classroom. I’ve never had any other aspirations to supervise or become an administrator, my desire was to teach and my fondest memories are of my students of whom I will carry with me for the rest of my life,” Drakakis said. “There are so many of them for thirty-one years that I’ve taught that I can’t even single out a handful. There are just so many.”

Anyone who has had Drakakis, or has even only heard about her, knows that she has a love for teaching, so what is her reasoning behind retiring?

It has been something that she has thought about, as well as making comments about on back to school night for the past two years. After teaching for such a long time, she said that two students have told her that she has taught their mother or father.

“That was a little shocking, so my next comment was that I don’t want to get to the point where I have a hand that comes up in the classroom and says to me ‘Oh guess what Mrs. Drakakis, you had my grandfather!’” she said.

Many people will miss Mrs. Drakakis, her wonderful teaching, and her unique personality.

Mr. Matthew Morone, her former student and current English teacher, said, “Of course, I think that the best part about her was that you can really tell that she loves what she teaches. With her it was always really an exercise of love.”

Morone is actually the lucky receiver of Mrs. Drakakis’ coveted Yanni poster, because she believes that his new state of the art classroom will be able to use some “ethnicity,” which is the title of the poster.  

Drakakis leaves everyone who she has graced with her teaching bittersweet for her final days at PV. Although she loved being a PV Indian she says,“It’s been 31 years and it’s time. I’m ready. I’m gonna miss it, but I’m ready to go into the second act.”