We asked teachers to look back on their school years at Waterford High School and tell us what was different now.

Mrs. Marchese went to WHS in 1998 and graduated in 2002. She looks upon and laughs at past fashions: “Jeans, t-shirts. No skinny jeans. Yeah, no skinny jeans. Some skirts, some dresses.”

Mrs. Marchese also commented on the cliques and popular kids from her time: “Um, there was like a group of friends. I wouldn’t say there were necessarily cliques. Yeah, just like different groups of friends.” She also mentions that popularity was big in middle school, but nobody really cared about popularity anymore.

Regarding the academic standards, she says, “I don’t know, I would say expectations were high then, and I think that they are still pretty high here. We had all the same classes, but the curriculum has changed in some classes.”

Mrs. Marchese also gives her views on changes in rules throughout WHS’s history: “There were no fancy smart phones, so that’s a new thing. I mean rules changed on that. There was no ISS. It was always if you got suspended it was outside of school. There were also Saturday detentions.”

Overall, she thinks WHS has a lot more school spirit among the students now. There was no Lancer Nation, so that is definitely an improvement. She also believes that the student body is more put together and supportive of each other.

Kevin Blackburn went to WHS from 1978 to 1981. The fashion at the time was plaid shirts, corduroy pants, and jeans. And, there were cliques. He says, “You know, you had your jocks, preppies, your gearheads, your gropers, but everyone was popular, and we all hung out together after school.”

He also sheds light on the academic standards: “We needed 17 quota credits to graduate, but, I mean, everybody went to college, worked for their dad, or worked for the military.”

Mr. Blackburn thought back to the rule changes: “There were Saturday detentions or we could work for the school. And, we were guilty until proven innocent.”

Overall, he believes it is better now educationally because a student can actually talk to advisors and professors from different universities, and get virtual tours. Everything is at students’ fingers.

Mrs. Niedojadlo went to WHS from 1985 to 1988. She smiles to herself and comments on the fashion at the time: “The fashion was much different. We had our own trends, and our big hair. And, you know, crazy clothes, and lots of fluorescents.”

Looking back, she says that groups and cliques were definitely present. There were pretty clear fine lines, such as jocks, cheerleaders, and smart kids, who were each a group all their own. The most popular kids in the 80s were the football players and cheerleaders.

Mrs. Niedojadlo discussed the academic standards and the rules: “Well, um, I can say that I don’t remember there being so much testing. We took like one standard test a year and then the SATS.” Thinking for a moment, she says, “The rules are pretty much consistent from what I remember. But you know, I never got in trouble in high school.”