After AP United States History (APUSH) teacher Faith Daly left the school at the end of last semester to pursue a PhD, the school had the difficult job of trying someone to replace her.
The teacher picked for the position was Amanda Lupoli, who is teaching APUSH and World History while also juggling the role of being a new mother.
Lupoli graduated from Stanford University as part of the Class of ‘13 and began her teaching career at Aragon High in San Mateo for two years. She then taught at Lowell High in San Francisco for seven years before going on maternity leave in February of 2023 and returning to Lowell last January. Due primarily to commute time, Lupoli decided that teaching here would be a good fit for her.
“We live in San Mateo and my husband teaches in Palo Alto, so it was a long commute for both of us,” Lupoli said. “One of my long-term goals was to spend more time with my son while maintaining my career, and SHS had a great position that was closer to home.”
Another factor that contributed to Lupoli’s desire to work here was the benefit of working in a smaller school district, especially when it came to working out issues administered by Human Resources. She noted that in a large school district, it was often frustrating to obtain benefits like parental leave.
In her first year, Lupoli is teaching three periods of APUSH for juniors and one period of World History for sophomores.
Lupoli said her interest in history began in middle school, where she was fortunate to have great teachers who helped her discover her passion in understanding past events and how they shaped today’s world. While studying at Stanford, Lupoli received a degree in history, sociology and education. However, she notes that her career options were limited for someone who wanted to pursue history for an advanced degree.
“I did some summer research for professors and realized that sitting in a library all day reading history documents wasn’t the path for me. By the end of the week, I just wanted to get up and talk to someone,” Lupoli said. “On the other hand, I’ve always enjoyed working with teenagers as I’ve previously worked as a camp counselor.”
Lupoli is still adjusting to several changes from her previous schools such as SHS’s block schedule and the daily tutorial. She’s also never experienced a bring-your-own-device policy before for students, but finds it extremely convenient not to have to bring out a Chromebook cart in every class.
Additionally, Lupoli noted that having a young child has also changed her attitude toward her own students.
“I’m used to dealing with teenagers who can be reasoned with, but babies don’t have any of that, so it’s made me a little bit more appreciative and patient with my students,” Lupoli said. “Additionally, the pandemic has taught me that mental and physical health are above things like schoolwork.”
With this changed perspective, Lupoli focuses on being flexible with her students, balancing textbook reading for homework with productive discussions in class to teach her students most efficiently. She tries to keep the homework load manageable for students in a class that has gained a reputation for homework overload over the years.
Lupoli also hopes to teach her students more than just the memorization of names and dates. She prioritizes critical thinking, hoping that that skill will benefit students more in the long run.
“Especially, in a world of fake news and social media, you can’t just look at something and accept it at face value,” Lupoli said. “Being able to think critically is an invaluable skill, and I’m hoping to build this along with historical knowledge in my students.”