All of the teachers at ERHS have years of experience before they work here, but few of those experiences are overseas.

Before working at ERHS, English and ESOL Math teacher Ms. Abigail Holtz taught at schools overseas in Nairobi, Kenya and Spain.

In fact, Ms. Holtz was so eager to teach that she left for Kenya the weekend after her college graduation. She arrived in Kenya in the middle of their school year.

In Kenya, the school system is done differently. Instead of a continuous year with breaks in between, students in Kenya go to school “two months on, and one month off” said Ms. Holtz.

For example, school is in session for January and February, but Kenyan students have March off. School resumes again in April and continues till May and so on. “The way they think about school there is totally different” said Ms. Holtz.

After teaching in Kenya, Ms. Holtz flew to Spain to continue teaching there.

“Spain is an awesome country,” said Ms. Holtz. “It’s interesting to see the image of America portrayed in other countries.”

In Spain, teachers are told what to do for each day, with the day’s lesson planned out by the school board. After teaching in Spain, Ms. Holtz returned to Maryland to intern, and eventually teach at Eleanor Roosevelt High School.

Natively from Maryland, Ms. Holtz said she “feels at home” here. She decided to teach at ERHS because she enjoyed her internship here and says that “Roose is well respected. There’s power to the name.”

Senior Tiara Massey appreciates Ms. Holtz for holding students accountable for their behavior.

“She’s outgoing, but sometimes strict,” said Massey. “She doesn’t tolerate lateness” and she’s an “inspiring teacher”

Another student, senior Aislinn Bryant valued Ms. Holtz for her kindness. “She’s a nice teacher” said Bryant. “She’s not strict, and she’s not hard.”

And senior Giovanni Castillo elaborated that this kindness is tempered with high standards. She “goes over things in detail,” said Castillo, “but essays are graded hard.”