Eliot Applestein transfers to Blake

After his 19th year at Blair, Eliot Applestein will turn in his Blazer horns and become a Bengal when he transfers to James Hubert Blake High School in the fall.

Applestein decided to teach at Blake in order to help improve the school's psychology program. "They are growing their AP Psychology program, and the current teacher is retiring," he says. Applestein has high expectations for the class. "My hope is to increase enrollment in the psychology classes at Blake," he says.

When he came to Blair almost 20 years ago, Applestein began the AP Psychology program and has been teaching the subject ever since. The AP class is one of the best to take, Applestein believes. "[AP Psychology] encourages kids to take an AP who might have never considered it before," he says with a smile. "The subject matter is really interesting, and you don't need to take years of foreign language or math in order to sign up for the class."

Although he is excited about the change in scenery, Applestein admits he will be sad about leaving Blair. "I'm really going to miss many of the teachers and, of course, the students because they have been great as well."