At the end of this year, U.S. History teacher John Connelly will be retiring from Niles North, after 21 years on the faculty.  Connelly is the only AP U.S. History teacher at North. He developed an effective curriculum which aided his students on their AP tests. North has scored very well on the APUSH test, with most students earning fours and fives.

According to Connelly, his favorite part of teaching involves: “The best memories are when you have kids that you spend a lot of time with, as I do teaching U.S. History… I get to know my kids pretty well,”

“We have always had strong AP scores here at Niles North, and I think like anything else, the more you do it, the better you get at it…you learn different strategies, you learn how to deal with an awful lot of content in a short period of time,” Connelly said.

Reflecting on her experience in Connelly’s class, junior Ilma Lodhi says, “He is one of the most knowledgeable teachers I know. It’s clear he really knows what hes talking about.”

In retirement, Connelly hopes to sleep in (at least until seven). He also hopes to “Do some of the things I haven’t had time for.”