Long-time science teacher CJ Addington’s time at Roseville High School is coming to a bittersweet end this year. 

“So I’ve been doing this job for 31 years, and of course, I don’t know how much you know about teacher pension programs but, the longer you teach the more you make in your pension rate, and it’s finally reached a point that I can actually live on, so I feel like I’m ready to pull the chord and do other things in my life,” Addington said.

Addington’s origins in the profession began many years ago, and he could not imagine pursuing any other career. His home at Roseville High School had simple beginnings. Simple beginnings that set him up for an enjoyable job.

“I decided to become a teacher because I love science, I’m really really into science, and I also wanted to work with people. I knew I didn’t want to sit in an office or a cubicle or in a lab or something, I wanted to work with people, especially young people,” Addington said. 

“So I actually interviewed with several different campuses and this was the first campus that offered me a job and that’s why I’m here, which I’m glad because as it turns out this is a great school, a great community, there’s a lot of sense of family here, people stay here forever and I’ve had a good time I’ve loved this job,” Addington said.

Reasons for his retirement are various, but Addington is certainly looking forward to pursuing outdoor activities he wasn’t otherwise able to pursue as a teacher. 

“I’m really really into nature and plants and animals and stuff and would like to spend more time out in nature. I really want to get into sharing nature with people who don’t normally see a lot of nature,” Addington said.

Interactions and relationships made with students are things not able to be found outside of teaching. Addington will miss such elements dearly. 

“The personal connections, the spending time with people, the human connection, I’m probably going to miss that part the most. Just having students and having a class and building relationships with kids, that’s probably what I’m going to miss the most,” Addington said.

Addington will not be leaving Roseville without a legacy. For as long as he’s been here, through his science teaching, he has impacted the lives and schooling of a multitude of lucky students.

“Over the 31 years I’ve had a lot of different things happen, like for example working with the campus greenhouse, we’re the only school in the campus district with a greenhouse, we’re the only school in the world that has ever flowered a corpse flower,” Addington said. “If I do the math in my head I have taught thousands of students in the 31 years. I just feel really proud that I’ve had an opportunity to reach and touch the lives of so many people that I’ve shared science and the joy of science with that many people and now they’re heading out and having kids and doing jobs and so I think that’s my biggest accomplishment is just teaching science to thousands of people.”