Advanced Placement Physics students returned from winter break to find a new teacher who’s a former pilot leading their class.

Josh Alexander filled one of the Advanced Placement positions that have been vacant since the beginning of the year. Alexander is from Oakland, California and has been teaching since 2004.

“ I came to Venice High because I wanted to work for LAUSD and I heard a lot of great things about Venice. Plus, ‘Grease’ was filmed here,” said Alexander on why he switched to Venice High.

“There was a bad sub at the beginning of the school year that did nothing,” said AP Physics student Sergio Valencia-Garcia.

“Mr. Alexander is cool and super hardworking.”

A new teacher was supposed to be hired this year to teach an AP Government, as well as an Economics class. A committee interviewed applicants and chose a teacher for this position.

It’s already the second semester of the school year and what was supposed to be a 75-day substitute position for Mr. Russell Stern has became a job for the rest of the school year.  

According to two teachers the new applicant will not be arriving before the end of the school year.