The Raider Review set out to find out more about the Rangeview High school Staff and how they are making a difference in our building. The Review sat down with Mrs. Palmer, Ms. Curtis-Basham, Mrs. Meyer, and Mr. Tucker. to find out why they choose RHS and how much they like being a Raider.
CALEB TUCKER
Isaiah Payne
Rangeview Alum Mrs. Palmer
Malia Mamah
Nealani Palmer, an English teacher here at Rangeview High School, has made a big impact in the Raider family. Mrs. Palmer’s reasoning for coming back as she stated is, “It’s home,” and that she loves Aurora, as well as finding many opportunities within the community. Palmer is proud to be an alumni. She stated that having this big of an opportunity shows students what it looks like to be successful. Her students are her favorite part of teaching, as she labels them as “funny,” “smart,” and “bright.”
“They make everyday worth coming,” she adds. However, what was high school like for Palmer? Well, her freshman through junior year, she said she wasn’t involved in any clubs, sports, or extracurricular activities. She wanted something to put on her resume so she decided to join cheerleading her senior year. Later on, she explains how it was the best thing she could have possibly done–to be able to go to all the basketball games, and it even happened to be the year they won state championships. It was really big for her.
“It was amazing getting to be in the center of such a big accomplishment,” she exclaimed. With this being said, her advice for students includes keeping your doors and options open, because you’ll never know what you will end up interested in.
“Closed doors only makes it harder for yourself in the future.”- Mrs. Nealani Palmer
Former student, Junior Aelyn Bencomo, is extremely close to Mrs. Palmer and talks to her on a regular basis. She described Nealani as a “kind soul,” and that most teachers are not like her. She explains how Palmer is easy to talk to and open up with about anything.
“She makes me feel good for who I am, like I’m a good person,” Bencomo stated
Carmen Curtis-Basham
Rubi Hermosillo
Ms. Curtis-Basham is a well-known staff here at Rangeview High School, a math teacher, a representative and a leader of two leadership clubs, and a joyful person who loves doing what she’s best at.
Curtis-Basham received her BS in Geology at Carleton College. Later she earned her Masters in Education at Nazareth College, which led her up to take math classes for fun at Northeastern University in Boston. She initiated her teaching career in 1989 in Boston, and following that she began teaching at Cambridge Middle School located in Massachusetts. She began this cycle of moving from high school to middle school every seven years, she stated, “I like moving around, staying in one place is not my way, for some it might be, not for me.”
Math is a subject in which you either love it or you hate it. Curtis-Basham decided to take math classes for fun and ended up enjoying it. She decided to teach math because there was such a high demand for math teachers especially here in the district. Why Rangeview High School though? Curtis-Basham explained that she came to be a teacher at Rangeview because there was a possibility of working with a retired coworker again, Michelle Totman and there was also an opening. She enjoys working with the math department and the people in it. The people are kind, with a sense of humor, and very welcoming.
Curtis-Bahsam isn’t only a teacher here at rangeview but she is also a leader and sponsor of two clubs, National Honor Society and Interact. She explained why she took these roles and it was because service is a big piece of life, especially in hers. Interact’s motif is “Service above Self” she states. Interact’s goal is to raise money for the community. “If a club needs support for their event or project, they will help for them to accomplish their needs,” she says. National Honor Society supports students’ ideas and her job is to support those ideas to make them come true. “When a student has an idea, we as leaders need to make those ideas come true. Students can come up with great things. We just need to help in order to make it happen.” She explains. The everyday motif that she lives by every day is- “Everything is possible when you try it out.”
Then a fun question was asked, “If you can be anything else, other than a teacher, what would it be?” She explained how she would love to be a backup singer in a band. “I was involved in vocal arts in high school and I enjoyed being on stage, so a backup singer would be a great option!”
She explained how she wouldn’t be the leader of the band, just in the back having a great time with a group of people. Like she said, “Everything is possible when you try it out.”
