It’s around 8:29 a.m.and you’re trying to get into class so you won’t be late. You click the join meeting button and immediately hear the sounds of a crying baby. That’s how you know you are in Mr. Baroni’s class, a place of learning, low-stress, and occasional crying noises.

Despite teaching one of the most popular classes on campus, Mr. Baroni still makes the time to meet with any students who have questions. Whether it’s needing help understanding a concept or to check a previous quiz score, Mr. Baroni is always happy to help. He wants to make sure that students in his class know that everybody has the potential to earn a good grade and that he is here to help with that. This is why there is a plethora of extra credit opportunities available to students to help them find success.

Since classes are online this year, Mr. Baroni has done his best to make sure that all students will be able to learn at the same pace. Since some students may have problems with the internet on lecture days, instead of giving a lecture in class, Mr. Baroni instead compiles his lectures into a Youtube video so that students can watch it whenever they have time. He also understands that internet providers can be spotty and instead of starting a new lesson on that day, he instead changes class to an asynchronous learning day where students aren’t pressured to attend class and instead can work at their own pace.

While working on projects in breakout rooms, Mr. Baroni frequently goes into different groups to make sure that he can answer any questions that students may have. He also makes the room more lively as he jokes around with the students. Although the difficulty of the course may be AP level, Mr. Baroni makes class feel more like talking with friends rather than working with stoic group mates.

Other than leading a successful APES class, Mr. Baroni is also a founder of the Arcadia High School Esports club which has been hosting several tournaments. During quarantine, Mr. Baroni found out about PlayVS, the official high school and college esports league that could allow AHS to have official esports teams. Being a previous esports coach himself, Mr. Baroni is the best candidate to lead the team to success.

Mr. Baroni’s considerate attitude and the relaxed nature of his class makes him a great teacher for anyone to have. Since Mr. Baroni is knowledgeable in a lot of pop culture, it always makes it easy to talk to him. There is no doubt that Mr. Baroni will continue to be a great teacher as well as a pioneer paving the way for the up-and-coming esports scene at AHS.

In the wise words of Mr. Baroni, “Have a good day, do great things.”