Although this may be Mr. Matthew Vannelli’s first year as a substitute teacher, he carries with him a quarter century of experience in education.

Prior to becoming a sub, he taught social studies and psychology at St. Mary’s Academy for 26 years. After deciding to leave St. Mary’s with a desire for more flexibility, more time to spend with family, and a smaller workload, he switched to substitute teaching instead, as he said he still wanted to stay in the educational field.

Mr. Vannelli currently substitutes for most Portland Public School high schools, with the exception of Jefferson High School, but La Salle remains his number one most-subbed-at school, with over 30 visits, he said.

“One of the many things I loved about St. Mary’s was that it was a school driven by a Catholic-centered mission,” he said. “Seeking a similar environment drew me to La Salle, where I knew friends here already, and I had colleagues who had spoken highly of La Salle.”

This pre-existing community is something Mr. Vannelli said he appreciated at La Salle. In fact, religious studies teacher Ms. Katie Cassidy, Director of Admissions Ms. Kelsey Hui, and Admissions Engagement Coordinator Ms. Francesca Marquez-Stock were all his previous students at St. Mary’s, so he enjoys getting to see them now.

“It’s just really cool to see them every week and just to see all the cool things that they’ve been doing with their role here at La Salle,” he said.

He said he is also friends with Dean of Students Ms. Kenzie D’Ambrosio, who previously worked at St. Mary’s.

“It’s also nice just to connect with her now and then as well,” he said.

This community makes Mr. Vannelli enjoy subbing at La Salle even more, he said.

“Another piece that I like about it is that there are people here that I know and care about already,” he said. “That’s just a cool thing to have.”

Reconnecting with past students and peers means a lot to Mr. Vannelli, but so does meeting new ones, he said, mentioning he appreciated getting to teach boys — something new since he worked previously at an all-girls school.

“As a one-upon-a-time high school boy myself, I think it just kind of allows me a little more relatability with these young men that I’m meeting,” he said. “I can really chat with them on different levels, whereas St. Mary’s is a little bit different in that regard.”

Due to the frequency of his La Salle subbing, Mr. Vannelli also appreciates the new community he has built up here.

“One of the things I really love is that, having been at places like La Salle so many times, I really feel like I’m part of the community; I feel like part of a bigger group as opposed to some, say, free agent who’s just kind of floating from place to place,” he said. “I just really love that I can come to a place and there are students who recognize me, and students who I am getting to know better and can chat with. And so I’m just really enjoying that part of it especially.”

And although Mr. Vannelli substitutes for a variety of subjects — his preferred ones being English, science, social studies, and occasionally Spanish — his background differs.

He went to Binghamton University in New York, majoring in environmental studies — with a focus on ecological anthropology — and minoring in history.

During his sophomore year, when he was still undecided, he did some presentations for classes, and after positive feedback from peers and professors, “it clicked,” he said. “I was like ‘Oh wow, maybe I’d be a good teacher.’”

He then returned to Binghamton University for graduate school and got his master’s degree in teaching.

After moving to Philadelphia, he subbed for a bit and additionally worked as an archivist and education programmer at Germantown Historical Society.

“It was there where I started developing curriculum and summer programs related to the historical society exhibits,” he said.

After around a year of that, he moved to Portland, but instead of teaching right away, he continued an activity from his past: spotted owl research.

During his junior year of college, he applied for Americorps and was stationed out in Fort Jones, California. He got a summer job for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife spotted owl survey protocol.

He continued this work for his first two years in Oregon before returning to teaching.

Mr. Vannelli usually gets his substituting assignments several days in advance, the night prior, or sometimes the morning of.

Even if he doesn’t have an assignment in the morning though, he said he still wakes up at 6 a.m. and gets ready anyway, just in case one pops up.

When he gets to La Salle, he checks in with Registrar Ms. Liz Staggs, gets set up with a laptop, and goes to the classroom.

“It’s just trying to follow through as best I can with the teacher’s lesson plans, because I know as a former, formerly full-time teacher, having to miss class is challenging in so many ways,” he said. “So I try to make it as seamless as possible for that class and try to keep the class moving forward.”

Outside of the educational world, Mr. Vannelli is a self-described “big home project guy.”

Last summer, he completely renovated his bathroom, including redoing the plumbing and electricity.

“I do love home projects,” he said. “I think part of what I love about that is just making my living space better, just improving it in any way that I can.”

In his free time, he also enjoys hanging out with his family. He has a wife, three kids, a poodle named Ozzie, and an indoor-outdoor cat.

He enjoys golfing, hiking, and going to the Sandy River Delta Park, commonly known as 1,000 Acres Dog Park.

He also likes cooking, especially pizza and pasta.

“You see my last name, so I hate to be the stereotype, but I love to cook pizza from scratch,” he said.

He is also a sports fan, mentioning he watches the Blazers, the Timbers, and college basketball.

Something Mr. Vannelli misses from full-time teaching, however, is the continuity.

“As a sub, you kind of come in for one day, and then you’re gone,” he said. “I think, as a teacher, one of the things I miss is the being part of this continued growth and development of not only the curriculum and the subject, but the students — kind of seeing them grow from those first days that you meet them to the end of the year [when] you feel like, okay, they’re ready … So I do miss that continuity.”

Mr. Vannelli does enjoy substituting, but he sometimes wishes students understood his ability to assist them beyond the substitute title.

“One thing that they don’t often know or realize is that I was a [full-time] teacher for a quarter of a century, and I do have the ability to help them in different capacities,” he said. “I wish students knew that there are some subs who do have this teaching capacity and can help them; they’re not just filling space.”