This June, after completing her 23rd year at Townsend Harris High School, Assistant Principal of Math, Science, and Technology Susan Brustein is retiring. 

Ms. Brustein said, “Throughout my 23 years I have been blessed with the people I work with and the students that I have been privileged to teach.”

As the AP for Math and Science, Ms. Brustein has had the responsibility of shaping and designing STEM programs all while serving as co-teacher for Science Research and as one of the head coaches of the Robotics team. 

“What I like best about being AP is my ability to shape a program to address student interest, needs, and concerns,” Ms. Brustein said. 

Before Ms. Brustein came to THHS, the school had standard offerings: honors Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, along with one elective, science research. Throughout her time here, Ms. Brustein has expanded the science department from this small selection to offer a wide breadth of classes such as engineering, organic chemistry, anatomy and physiology, and AP Chemistry. “Even though it is a humanities school, I came here with the understanding that we were going to build a program that was worthy of the students that had come to us for humanities.”

When asked what her favorite class to teach was, she said, “I love teaching science research. It was fun on any end of it. I love research because every year I have learned so much alongside the students doing their projects. I always find it refreshing and exciting.”

Ewa Stasiewicz, a senior in Ms. Brustein’s science research class, said, “Ms. Brustein is not just a great teacher, but also an amazing person. She’s someone who I relied on for help and guidance during Science Research, and I appreciated all of her support during the past two years. She didn’t just teach me how to write a research paper, but she likewise always gave great advice about common skills that would further benefit me in the future.”

Senior Arietta Xylas shared similar thoughts: “I’ll definitely miss her passion for her work [most]. Any time I went to her for a problem with our science research paper, she was always very clear and very helpful. And I think that it is very hard to come by people who are as intelligent as Ms. Brustein.”

“I’ll definitely miss having that grounding force in my life,” Arietta said.

Her colleagues shared similar thoughts.

Physics teacher John Tsai described Ms. Brustein as someone who “stands up for her department,” and he said he was grateful for the faith she put in him when she hired him. He has had no other supervisor since she hired him, and he said he wouldn’t have it another way: “she’s been my only boss and my favorite one.”  

Assistant Principal of Guidance Veronica York said, “I’ve known Ms. Brustein for 12 years, ever since I started working at Townsend Harris High School. Many people do not know how funny Ms. Brustein is and the wealth of knowledge and the stories she’s able to tell. I really love her chocolate mousse dessert and any time we have had the opportunity to have dinner at her place… I think we have had a lot of fun in the middle of intense, important decisions.”

Ms. Brustein, who worked at other schools before THHS (including Stuyvesant High School) praised the collaborative nature of THHS: “The teamwork is something I have here…This is much more of a collaborative faculty.”

Her own high school teachers put her on the path to a career in education. “I was inspired by my high school chemistry teacher and physics teacher, both who made being in the classroom magic and I wanted to be able to do that for someone else,” she said. “They made things clear, understandable, and showed me the beauty of how things work, and I really wanted to do that for others.”

According to her students, she succeeded in providing that clarity. “She has a clear-cut plan of how she wants us to organize and run things,” said junior Joy Zheng of her experiences with Ms. Brustein and Science Olympiad. “With her around she maintains the unity and flow of clubs and anything she participates in,” Joy said.

As a parting message, Ms. Brustein offered advice to the students of THHS: “I think that the students in the school are extraordinary, and I wish that they could see themselves how we see them. Be less afraid of getting into the best school and enjoy life. Work hard to learn. Learning is and should be a struggle. If you’re not struggling, you’re probably not learning. I wish our students saw themselves as the wonderful people that they are.”