ERHS is always welcoming new faces to the Raider family. This 2025-2026 school year, ERHS is welcoming two new science teachers! Science is a huge part of the school community, and teachers play an important role in it. This year, Roosevelt is thrilled to welcome Ms. Maureen Monk and Dr. Adanze Duru.
Eleanor Roosevelt is excited to welcome Ms. Maureen Monk to the ERHS science community! Ms. Monk, who previously taught at Oakland Mills High School in Howard County, MD, for seven years, has joined the ERHS science department as an AP Biology, Biogeochemical Systems, and Research Practicum teacher. Ms. Monk expresses how she “always wanted to teach biology” at a high school level as it feels “really rewarding” because they dive deeper into concepts and “it is really fun to watch the students figure everything out.” In addition to her passion for teaching biology, she also “teach[es] flute lessons as a side gig.” A fun fact about Ms. Monk is that she can speak Spanish.
Before becoming a teacher, she attended St. Mary’s College of Maryland for both her undergraduate and graduate degrees. She majored in Biology with a minor in Education and Flute Performance. Later on, she earned her master’s in teaching.
Joining an entirely new school can be very challenging and difficult to adjust to. However, Ms. Monk says she is “most excited to be teaching brand-new classes in a much larger building,” as she is “always looking for new challenges” to “keep life from being boring.” The ERHS community has been very supportive and welcoming her with open arms, and the students are challenging her “to teach at a higher level, which [she] really enjoys.” Ms. Monk also looks forward to getting to know even more staff and students at ERHS. As everyone has made the transitions easier for her by welcoming her with open arms.
One of Ms. Monk’s students, Rachel Samuel, a Senior at ERHS, shares that her current experience with Ms. Monk has been really nice. Rachel notes, “She’s super pleasant and encouraging.” Rachel also notes that Ms. Monk makes class easier by “having all of their dates in advance.” While also “making it pretty clear what she expects in our work.” Which helps Rachel not feel “tense” or “stressed.”
ERHS also welcomes Dr. Adanze Duru to the ERHS science community! Dr. Duru is from Nigeria. She attended Bowie State University and Usmanu Danfodiyo University in Sokoto, Nigeria. Dr. Duru has majored in Veterinary Medicine and Information Systems Management at a master’s level. Prior to coming to Roosevelt, Dr. Duru taught at Hyattsville
Middle School for 6 years. As of now, she teaches 9th grade Biology, Biology ST, and 12th grade RP. She is a very hands-on teacher who describes herself as a “research person naturally.” She would also say she is “a very introverted person” but, nonetheless, super kind.
Despite the change in environment, Dr. Duru shares that “navigating the new environment has been very easy because of how helpful everyone has been.” Including staff and students. She emphasizes that what she has enjoyed the most so far this school year is “working with [her] students, especially in the research area.” She describes herself as someone who really likes to learn new things. Not only that, but she enjoys seeing how her students think and “encouraging them to apply creativity when it comes to researching a problem they want to solve with their project and research.”
Although she has always taught science, the 8th grade science she taught was very broad. This year, Dr. Duru emphasizes she is “excited to explore additional curricula” since it “gives [her] an opportunity to dive more into the content area” as well as “become familiar with biology concepts.” Her students have made this new environment easier to navigate since they are “very good and receptive to learning.” Regarding ERHS, Dr. Duru emphasizes, “The new experience is different, but I have enjoyed every part of it.”
Lani Sharma, a 12th grader at ERHS, explains that her experience with Dr. Duru has overall been positive. Lani mentions, “She is very straightforward on what she wants to be completed and is honest with us whenever she doesn’t exactly know what we should be doing.” It is also told that Dr. Duru does a great job with being very detailed and specific when explaining the topics they are learning. Sharma states, “Dr. Duru has mainly made the course easier by providing [them] with materials and schedules.” Sharma says she “personally finds the schedule very easy” because she can “plan accordingly to meet all of them at least 1-2 days before it’s actually due.”
Following the Roosevelt Way, the Raider community continues to embrace new faces as they join Eleanor Roosevelt with care and respect so that everyone can flourish and grow together. As for Ms. Monk and Dr. Duru, they cannot wait to meet the rest of the Raider community and see the wonderful things that ERHS has to offer.