Robert Astuni

After a year of teaching at AHS, English teacher Robert Astuni announced his resignation. 

Astuni has been teaching for eleven years. He moved to Avoca, Iowa, and accepted the English teaching position at Atlantic High School for the 2021-2022 school year. He is “returning to New Jersey to the school I taught at before I came here.” 

Astuni is moving back to New Jersey for his family life. He said, “I am leaving to protect the mental well-being of my family. They miss the rest of their family in a way that I cannot fix.” Although the move will be another rough transition, he is excited to get back the “few things” he misses from the east coast. 

Some of his favorite memories from AHS were the bonds he made with students and staff. Astuni said, “[My favorite memories are] the acceptance from the students, sharing ideas with my colleagues, and talking about comparisons between here and where I came from. I could go on for hours about my students.” He will miss the “way the Atlantic High School community welcomed me and made me a part of something bigger than myself.”

Teaching has taught Astuni a lot about himself. He has learned “that patience has a limit. You need to ask the question you want answered and answer the question you want asked. It has also taught me that I can let my students in more than I thought I could, but that’s more of an Atlantic thing. The students here know more about me than the Jersey kids ever did.”

Senior Dreyah Rutherford was in Astuni’s contemporary literature class the first semester. She enjoyed his teaching in that class because he was very “personable.” Her favorite memories from senior year include his announcements when she walks down the hallway or into his classroom. She said, “Although I’m graduating, I’m going to miss the way he always made students feel heard and understood. I’ll also miss his sense of humor and his Friday Pac-Man AO.”