One mistake changed everything for math teacher

Math teacher Rafael Alapont started teaching by mistake. That mistake, which may be better described as luck, has led to 14 years of success and enrichment in his life as a teacher and a person.
Alapont used to be the director of the aquatic facility at Lake Brentley High School, located in Altamonte Springs, Fla., where he secured his first teaching job in 1999.

However, one of the math teachers at this school had a breakdown and was no longer able to effectively teach the students. In order to find a replacement teacher as soon as possible, the principal spoke to Alapont about becoming a math teacher, knowing that he had majored in the subject.

That school year, Alapont ended up teaching nine chapters of algebra in two months.

“It was basically like summer school on steroids,” Alapont said.

Since then, Alapont has taught at Mountain View High School, Homestead High School and Crittenden Middle School. He joined Saratoga this year to teach Geometry and Algebra 2 Honors.

“Saratoga [High] is one of the best schools in the nation,” said Alapont. “In my eyes, it’s the best school in the state.”

Teaching was not the profession Alapont originally had in mind. He wanted to be an air traffic controller after he got his mathematics degree. He took all the tests to become one, but then-President Ronald Reagan had stopped the hiring for federal positions.

“I wanted to be an air traffic controller at one point in time because it was all mathematical,” said Alapont. “I have always loved the way vectors move in a coordinate plane.”

When Alapont is not teaching, he enjoys eating Chinese food, visiting his two children at USC and playing with his 2-year-old son.

Although Alapont was not a teacher here last year, he was the coach for girls’ varsity water polo. He is coaching the team this year as well.

Luckily, everything worked out for the best because Alapont loves teaching and could not be happier. He even described himself as a “math geek.”

“Every day is a new experience when you teach,” Alapont said. “At the end, it’s always nice to see the light in students’ faces.”

According to Alapont, the most important aspects of being a competent teacher include passion for the subject and connections with one's students.

“I enjoy seeing the light students possess,” Alapont said. “It always feels great to help [students] understand the material and to get them to verbalize what they are learning.”

During his first year here, Alapont looks forward to getting his Algebra 2 Honors students ready for Trig/Precalculus Honors and preparing his Geometry students for Algebra 2 Honors.

“[Students] should be proud of the school [they] belong to; it’s a great family,” said Alapont. “It’s important to understand how lucky we are —  students and teachers alike — that we are part this great community.”