Laughter echoed throughout the hallway.
Passerby's could hear the sounds of students interacting and engaging with one another, despite being outside of the classroom.
No one would’ve suspected that students would be so invested in a class such as World History, but Patrick Cavanaugh’s class was far from stereotypical.
Beloved by his students, Cavanaugh has been teaching for a total of 38 consecutive years, beginning his teaching journey at the young age of 22. As a high school student himself, he started teaching swimming and tennis lessons over the summer and found helping others learn and improve to be enjoyable. He took this new found passion to college where he attended Vincennes University for two years, IUPUI for two years and finally closed out his college expedition by receiving his Masters from Indiana Wesleyan. He went forward to teach several subjects such as: Social Studies and Math for students with learning disabilities from grades 7th through 12th, Geographic Social Studies for 7th graders, Economics for seniors, and finishing his teaching marathon with World History for 10th grade students.
Looking back on where his fire for teaching stemmed from, he recollected how impactful his mother was. “My hometown has a long, important history and my mom made sure we were aware of it and appreciated it,” Cavanaugh reminisced. He took that passion that was passed on to him and turned it into a career where he could touch the lives of students. Even just by starting every day with a smile, Cavanaugh’s lessons and loving classroom environment left a lasting impression: a legacy that much of the student body will miss.
The average high school class brings to mind the images of bland classrooms and monotone teachers. On the contrary, Cavanaugh’s lessons had always been entirely the opposite of what was considered “normal.” In his own words, Cavanaugh described his teaching style as collaborative and filled with participation opportunities. “I try to be as interactive as possible … getting kids to think and talk to each other I've found is much more productive than listening to me for an entire period,” Cavanaugh stated. “I try to be approachable and as positive as possible. Hopefully kids can tell I enjoy what I do.”
Cavanaugh always treasured the times when his former students would reach out and illustrate how much of an impact he had on their lives after they left his classroom for the last time. “Seeing kids I've had in class go on to be productive citizens is the most rewarding thing for me,” he said. Above all things, he said he would most miss having the pleasure of waking up every day and being surrounded by intelligent high school youth and his educator colleagues. His students and coworkers have helped motivate him to continue teaching for the duration of nearly four decades. “I've been really lucky to teach what I've taught … all the way from kids with special needs to AP kids and from grades 7-12 … so being able to teach a variety of learners has kept it exciting every day,” Cavanaugh highlighted. “The people I've been around have just been awesome … great people who are great friends. They love teaching and being around kids … that's always been contagious.”
Closing out the year, students began to dread the years to come as they imagined a school without Cavanaugh in it. Although his presence would be missed, a happy and healthy retirement was precisely what the influential history teacher deserved. Retiring along with his wife and long-time supporter, Carrie Cavanaugh, the pair started to set dreams for themselves in the future. “We plan to travel more, pursue volunteer opportunities, see family more,” Cavanaugh explained. “Personally, I want to get better at playing guitar and golf. I'll read more for pleasure, exercise more regularly and become a better cook.”
“He brings his A-game every day,” Carrie Cavanaugh commented on the commitment of her husband. “Even though he’s been teaching a long time, he spends so much time at home trying to come up with ways to really get them excited about what he’s teaching them … Every student who’s ever had him is so grateful for that opportunity and he deserves that because he works super hard. He truly loves his kids.” From writing skits, to writing creative letters, to his famous silly slides, Patrick Cavanaugh devoted his life to educating his students every day.
As a final piece of advice for incoming teachers who are just starting out their careers of influencing the lives of students, Cavanaugh offered his best recommendation: “Zoom out … your class and curriculum are important, but they're not everything. Kids have a lot going on … hold them accountable, but understand your class is probably not the most important thing in their life.”
A former student of Cavanaugh in the 2025 through 2026 school year, sophomore Emma Miller shared her appreciation for a teacher that heavily impacted her learning experience. “He definitely makes learning interactive fun, even if it’s a hard or boring subject,” she said. “He’s always making connections to things we understand and connecting topics to the real world which makes learning easier. He always makes sure he’s nice and gives students a safe space to talk to him if they ever need it. I have his first period class and I love starting my day with his class. I’ll miss him as a teacher and I appreciate everything he has done to make sure he has a fun and interesting class every day.”
Story by Andee Ward