Joumana Salameh Cafferty is a not-so-recent member of the language department. Cafferty has been teaching for 12 years, two of which were spent at Malden High teaching Spanish CP and Honors.
Cafferty attended Boston University, earning a Master’s degree in International Relations. Prior to that, Cafferty earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in Lebanon at St. Joseph’s University in Beirut.
Cafferty never intended to be a teacher. After she had her two children, that all changed. She took her children’s education into her own hands. Cafferty taught them in ways she knew would work specifically for them.
As the mother of a child with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), it was hard to keep her children on top of their work. But Cafferty still made sure to help them succeed. Now Cafferty is able to apply the skills that she learned towards teaching different students at MHS. Cafferty always gives a helping hand as she wants to see each and every one of her students succeed.
Even before her two children, Cafferty had that spark of teaching and helping others. “My cousin reminded me that I used to teach her, and it was something I had forgotten,” Cafferty recalled.
She enjoys guiding people, which allows them to succeed in incredible ways. “My son took all honors classes; he was able to complete his bachelor’s degree in three rather than four years,” Cafferty added. This is one of the many examples of Cafferty being able to help people succeed with her teaching and is one of the reasons that she loved helping others.
Being a large part of her children’s education, she learned different ways to help students. She enjoys using songs when teaching because they help students learn and remember important things for long periods of time. “I remember some people there singing a song in German; it was a German group of people… I realized 20 years later, I have not forgotten the song,” Cafferty expressed.
“This is my 12th year of teaching. Last year and this year, I say, were the happiest experiences I have had when teaching,” Cafferty explained. The welcoming community allowed Cafferty as a a new member of MHS to feel at home. “This is the best student body I’ve ever had. I absolutely love interacting with the students here,” Cafferty added.
Cafferty has always had a gift for learning different languages. Her native language is Arabic, but she also knows English, French, Spanish, and a little bit of Italian. She learned French while living in Paris for eight years. In fact, using her gift of learning different languages, she has taught both French and Italian at different points in her career.
Many describe Cafferty as a teacher who cares for her students. “I would describe her as very disciplined, but overall, she’s a really good teacher who cares for her students,” Ian Ian Ho explained. She carries her discipline into her teaching, which can be used to motivate students who need extra help.
“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail,” Ho said, referencing Cafferty’s motto that she passes along frequently to her students.
Overall, Cafferty has found the Malden High student body and staff welcoming. The environment here at Malden High has made Cafferty feel very relaxed and happy. She loves teaching and interacting with her different students and with everyone here at Malden High. Cafferty is excited for what the future holds and hopes to leave a long-lasting positive impact on her students.
