DALTON, Mass. — When Wahconah Regional High School science teacher Matthew Pegorari works with his students, faces ignite with enthusiasm — almost as much as a gummy bear dropped in molten potassium chlorate. Which is a lot. 

 

Getting his students excited to learn and come to class every day has earned Pegorari the iBerkshires Teacher of the Month designation. 

 

The Teacher of the Month series, in collaboration with Berkshire Community College, will feature distinguished teachers nominated by community members. You can nominate a teacher here. 

 

Chemistry can be difficult and often frustrating, said students, but their teacher said if they persevere and allow the struggle to become part of the process, they can be successful later in college. 

 

"I really enjoy chemistry and teaching chemistry, mostly because there's so much unknown out there. Science is a hands-on type subject. It's really nice mixing chemicals together to determine what's going to occur," Pegorari said. 

 

"Students really like to see things explode or change colors, so there's a lot of excitement involved in it, as well as the general exploration of the subject.

 

The skills, such as problem-solving, memorization, and attention-to detail, that students learn in the course are very important to experiences students will have later in life, he said. 

 

"A lot of his work is doing it and keep doing it until you get it right. So, you have to keep doing it in life. You're gonna face problems, but you got to keep going to get it right," said sophomore Teaghan Galeucia. 

 

Despite the course's rigor, students love coming to class, drawn in by the positive, welcoming, and energetic environment Pegorari creates. 

 

"He definitely deserves Teacher of the Month because he is a very friendly teacher. You always feel comfortable with him no matter what, and his classroom is just such a good environment to be in," nominator Aubrey Dowd, sophomore. 

 

"He's also just a great teacher, like, I personally am not very good with chemistry but he's definitely good at teaching it, and I understand it a lot more with him.

 

Pegorari does a very good job at motivating his students to do the work, sophomore Nate Beatty said. 

 

"Even though the material can be challenging at times, it still never feels like a gauntlet to try to come into his class and learn something," he said. 

 

"I always know that it's going to be a positive environment coming into the classroom and even if you need help with something he's always going to be there for you so you don't feel like alone doing the work."

 

This atmosphere not only boosts engagement but also makes it easier for students to ask questions without fear of judgement. 

 

"It makes it so you're more comfortable asking your teacher for help, because if you're not comfortable asking your teacher for help and you're not understanding something, it's going to be a lot harder to actually grasp the concept that you're struggling to learn," sophomore Katherine Nyhan said.  

 

"So you need to make sure you actually have a connection with your teacher where you're comfortable asking them or people around you for help." 

 

Even on the first day of school, sophomore Gianna Heilbroun knew that Pegorari's chemistry class was going to be great when he launched the year with a demonstration. 

 

"I love science and math classes, so I always get a little nervous going into them, because I know I love to learn about them, but if you have a bad teacher, sometimes it ruins it for you … he did a demonstration on the first day that made some fire come out of something." she said.

 

As soon as you walk into the room, you are surrounded by the accomplishments of his students. Posters, collaboratively designed by Pegorari and his students, hang on the walls not only shows how far the students have come but also simplifies complex problems into easy-to-follow steps.

 

"I just hope that I have students enjoy coming to my class. Even if they don't love chemistry, they remember coming to my class. They remember having a good time in my class. And I just want to be remembered as a positive part of their life," Pegorari said.

 

Nyhan said pretty much everyone she talked to has expressed a liking to be around him because of his light-hearted, trusting, and comforting presence.

 

"He's a huge support system. If I ever need to talk to a teacher about anything, even … not school related, I definitely pick him just because … I just feel safe talking to him," said sophomore Addison Reddington

 

There is a lot of independence in high school and the teacher is there to guide the students to success. Pegorari said, outlining how he loves teaching because every day and year is unique. 

 

"I really love my students. I love interacting with them every day. I think high school students is a great age … I really enjoy their senses of humor and all the little quirks about them, so I really enjoy coming to school every day," he said. 

 

Students also described how Pegorari tailors his teaching to each student's learning style, employing a variety of techniques to ensure everyone succeeds.

 

His connection to the students extends beyond the classroom including coaching quiz team, in addition to, cross country running for 11 years. 

 

"I think he has a pretty good connection to his students. He's able to joke around with us a lot during class, like sometimes he'll overhear us saying something, and then he'll join in on our conversations with our friends, and it's really great," said sophomore Kassidee Bolduc. 

 

Pegorari shares inside jokes with his students, most notably "Bow-Tie Friday." The tradition began when a student saw him wearing a bow tie and declared, "It must be Bow-Tie Friday!" 

 

He embraced the idea, and now the weekly ritual brings excitement and camaraderie to the class. In his collection, he has 12 bow-ties and about 30 regular ties that he wears throughout the week. 

 

Pegorari started working at Wahconah about 15 years ago, starting as the biology teacher. Today, he is the school's main chemistry teacher, said Nicole Walsh, assistant principal of teaching and learning. Until this year, Walsh was the head of the science department. 

 

"He's worked really hard to dig into that curriculum and do the best for the students that he can and we love him," 

 

Pegorari is cheerleading what Wahconah represents, Walsh said. 

 

"He's definitely there for the kids and he also brings his family around. He has little kids, and they come around our students, which they love, and he loves and that just kind of brings that family atmosphere to Wahconah that we love," she said.