By Paige Johnson
One of the founders of BHS Model Congress, a favorite and impactful teacher at BHS, Mr. James Petela is saying goodbye to his teaching career.
Although he began teaching here in 1993, Petela has been intertwined with the evolution of Branford High School since he was born. His father, Stan, was a physical education teacher at BHS after serving in World War II.
Petela graduated from BHS and then from Yale in 1985 before he returned to the school in 1993, folllowing in his family’s teaching footsteps.
He started teaching AP U.S History early in his career and has taught the curriculum ever since. Along with AP US History, he has taught standard history and now World Views. At the time World Views was a western and eastern philosophy class but has since evolved through his teaching and curriculum work.
Petela plans to retire at the end of this month.
AP US History is one of Petelas favorite classes to teach for a multitude of reasons. He said he enjoys teaching sophomores and thrives off of how competitive the AP curriculum is. Although the last years have been difficult with COVID, he loves watching the kids take the exam each year and learning the importance of not only deadlines but the “focus and grind” mentality.
Despite loving the competitive grind attitude, his World Views curriculum also holds a special place in Petela’s heart. The two courses complement each other, he said.
On the contrary to APUSH, he finds peace and balance of the class World Views. The two classes have a “yin yang” type of relationship. With the course mainly geared towards seniors, each year he enjoyed watching them grow and prepare for a new chapter of their life. He takes the time to read each of his students’ essays, and more specifically learn their stories and who they are. He notes that this year the average worldview essay was 22 pages long.
Besides Petela’s academic involvement, he has played a crucial role in the development of Model Congress. It all started in 1994 after receiving an email from Yale about starting it in Branford. He was intrigued and saw the potential of the rising club. On one of the first Harvard trips he recruited 12 kids. It was a memorable trip as he and his father drove the kids up themselves. Now roughly 30 years later, there are over 110 kids active and involved in the Model Congress community at BHS.
Leaving BHS with no regrets, Petela’s accomplishments are evident. Just look at his walls. He’s thankful for the number of experiences and trips he’s been able to hold. Being able to hold Model Congress conferences for 30 years and become one of the biggest in state and in the country is an undeniable accomplishment. Equal to Model Congress, he’s proud of the development of World Views and AP US History.
Petela plans to stay busy after his retirement. An Incredible opportunity at Yale came up that will make this transition more doable and affordable, he said.
“It starts with Yale and ends with Yale,” Petela explains. He also plans on still helping out with Model Congress. There was no specific pivotal point that encouraged his retirement, but COVID made for a nice natural transition.
“30 years here in the trenches of teenagers, you know when it’s time,” Petela jokes.
With many marvelous years and memories made at BHS Petela will be ready to say goodbye to the “chatty corners” and “phoneys” in the fall.
His last few words of wisdom is the importance of staying curious, digging deep down to constantly question and find yourself. Echoing his favorite character in The Lion King, Rafiki, and Socrates, Petela said that “wisdom begins in wonder, that knowing thyself and others and living rightly is worth consideration.”
Petela will be missed greatly but it’s important we appreciate not only the time and effort he has put into teaching; but also his wisdom.
Farewell and good luck Petela.
Editor's note: Paige Johnson graduated from Branford High School in 2023.
