Mr. Sarrette - HS English
"Damian Sarrette was instrumental to all of them being successful in college. He helped them become wonderful writers which showed in their college assignments. They’ll even tell you that he helped them become the writers they are now."
What grade/subject are you currently teaching?
I currently teach English 9, American literature (grade 11), Senior AP literature, Greek mythology (mix of juniors and seniors), and dystopian literature (again, a mix of juniors and seniors).
How long have you been a teacher? How long in NB?
This is my 24th year teaching in North Brookfield. I was hired in August of 1999. I did my practicum at Ludlow High School and then served as a long-term substitute teacher at Palmer High School (my own alma mater) for the last few months of the 1998-1999 academic year before accepting the position in North Brookfield. I consider NBHS and its community to be my "home-away-from-home" and its people to be an extension of my "wonderfully dysfunctional" family (I say this with the utmost affection)! I truly feel blessed to be one of the very few teachers remaining who has taught in the former high school, and I served as Class Advisor for the Class of 2005 (they were the first to graduate from our current high school, which opened in the 2004/2005 academic year). Honestly, this is very special to me, because when I was first hired at NBHS in 1999 I was the 7th & 9th grade ELA teacher. The Class of 2005 were seventh-graders who had no advisor. I still remember being asked by little, seventh-grade, Danielle Cormier (Class President at the time) if I would take them on as a class because if I didn’t - nobody would. I happily accepted the position and was able to share and actively participate in so many of their high school milestones through graduation and beyond. To this day, I stay in contact with so many members of the Class of 2005. We had a great time at their 10-year reunion in 2015, and I can’t wait until their 20th in just two years!
Where Did you grow up? Go to college? Masters?
Like the classic Mellencamp tune, I was born and raised in a small town. In the 1980s, the town of Ware was not much larger than North Brookfield. I attended schools in Ware up through my junior year of high school before graduating from rival Palmer High School (long story) in 1991. Upon graduation, I was accepted to Southeastern Massachusetts University (now Umass Dartmouth). I found myself on academic probation at the close of my first semester, and I was academically suspended by the end of my second semester (another long story). Obviously, I had some growing up to do. I returned home; worked various part-time and full-time jobs while attending STCC part-time. I eventually earned an Associate’s Degree and transferred to Westfield State University (it was still considered a college at the time). I continued to work full-time and attend classes part-time. I’m very proud of the fact that I was able to attain an English B.A. and graduate with honors (considering how low my G.P.A. was when I was academically suspended) in 1999. I eventually went on to Worcester State University and earned a Masters’ degree in Education with a concentration in English (at the time, WSU did not offer a MA in English - this was their equivalent) in 2011. I graduated at the top of my class and was the medallion recipient for attaining the highest G.P.A. in the English department. While I may not be proud of how and why I was a nontraditional student, I feel it has served me very well as a teacher. Modesty aside, I feel that I am able to build and develop very strong bonds and relationships with my students because they can relate and identify with me. In many ways, we are one and the same.
Any family info you want to share ?
The only role I value more than teaching at North Brookfield is serving as a proud papa to three teenage boys. My eldest (who was born a month before NB’s Class of 2005 graduated and was wearing a “Class of 2005 Mascot” onesie in attendance at the NB Elementary Auditorium for their graduation ceremony) is now a senior at Pathfinder Tech and graduates in June. My middle son is currently a freshman at Pathfinder Tech and looks to follow in his brother’s footsteps. My youngest is a seventh grader at Palmer High School, who will likely follow and one day surpass his brothers because of his ambition and drive.
What is your favorite hobby outside of school? Place to travel ? Thing to do?
Outside of school, I enjoy weightlifting, reading, bike riding with my boys, attending concerts with my boys (we’re huge music fans), and spending summers with my boys and Macho (my 3-year-old pit bull) at our trailer in Old Orchard Beach!
