Amidst changing times at the high school, some aspects of the experience have stayed consistent for decades: teachers have remained a vital part of the community.

A group of over 25 staff have remained at the high school for at least 25 years, throughout the development of new technologies and an ever-changing world.

Chemistry teacher Steve Lantos has been teaching at the high school for 41 years and has decided that the 2025-2026 school year will be his last year teaching. Before Lantos taught BHS, he was a student here, who graduated in 1980. Lantos said one of the biggest changes that he has seen in his teaching career is expectations from students.

“In recent times, there’s a stronger push by both the community and students to conform. [Students] have a heightened expectation that what I’m doing here, teaching chemistry, is the same as what [another teacher is] doing across the hall, teaching chemistry,” Lantos said.

Social worker Paul Epstein started working at the high school 26 years ago and, like Lantos, he was also a student at the high school and graduated in 1991. As someone whose job is focused on the mental health and well-being of students, Epstein said he has seen pressure on students rise over the years.

“[Mental health has] gotten a little bit worse, probably. I can tell that kids are a little bit more stressed out now,” Epstein said. “Should high school kids be busier and more stressed out than adults? Probably not, but I think they might be.”

History teacher Stephanie McAllister Poon, has been teaching at the high school since 1996. Poon said she has seen cellphones take over the halls during her career.

“We used to care a lot about kids wearing headphones in the hallway because it was seen as really antisocial, and now kids have their noses in their phones all the time,” McAllister Poon said.

Although there is a lot that has changed, Epstein said some aspects remain the same.

“We still have that BHS ethos of freedom and responsibility,” Epstein said. “I don’t think we’ve lost the BHS special sauce, which is that we treat our kids like the semi-adults that they are or are trying to be.”

Similarly, McAllister Poon said that important parts of the high school have stayed the same throughout her career.

“The spirit of the place is really the same,” McAllister Poon said. “I think that Brookline has always been a place where you can be who you want to be and find people who are like you.”

Lantos said coming back to the same school for 41 years was never a question for him. It was an easy choice because of the wonderful community around him.

“The people: that’s why I’m here. Also just being with really smart, committed and passionate fellow educators,” Lantos said.

While Epstein returned to the high school year after year, each brought new situations and experiences. He said that is what kept him coming back.

“This job is totally a job that you want to come back to after the summer each year because every year, yes, is the same structure, place and basic daily schedule, but everything is different. New kids, new issues to talk about, new relationships to form,” Epstein said. “So it’s constantly refreshing.”

After 41 years of teaching at the high school, Lantos’s advice to new teachers is simple.

“Stick with it,” Lantos said. “You’re in for a long, strange and wonderful trip.”