One day before the new school year, where the temperature reads 86 degrees in August, Mrs. Shakera Dorton walks into an empty air-conditioned classroom where she will soon teach to students she has never met before. Coming to a new school is something high school students face at least once in their lifetime, but teachers do as well. For Mrs. Dorton, one of the few new math teachers, it was not the first time she had switched high schools. Although she had no prior knowledge of Whitney and its students, Mrs. Dorton soon gained an idea of what it means to be a Wildcat. From dressing in all maroon on Friday to the teacher luncheon, she said she believes the school is more unique than any other she has ever taught at in her career.

Dorton began her career teaching at Kennedy High School in the Bay Area; from there she then taught at Burbank in Sacramento and Elk Grove. This is her 12th year teaching math.

“Math is concrete. I can assign 10 different papers and give those to any 10 different teachers, and when I get them back they will all be corrected the same. On the other hand, if I were to hand out a creative writing paper in English, it may come back with 10 different opinions of what the correct response is,” Dorton said.

Not only does she have a passion for math but finds enjoyment in oher things outside of school such as theater, musicals, movies and books.

“I would love to be involved in the theater program because I am somewhat animated, and have been told I should think about pursuing it,” Dorton said.

She also has a compassion for animals, which was inspired by her own dog, King.

“If I were a millionaire, the one thing I would do is get a farm and just collect all the cats, dogs and animals that didn’t have a home,” Dorton said.

Though Dorton has only been teaching here for about three weeks, she wants all her students to know that they are welcome to come to her for any help or advice.

“I know I’m new, so I know it can be just as intimidating for me as it is for the freshmen to say hi to others. But I will greet people, and I want students to know that they can say hi and feel free to talk to me,” Dorton said.

by ZOEY CUMMINGS, SIENNA EAGLE, RENESE LOPEZ AND BLAKE WONG