The new algebra teacher at Triton High School, Mr. Dritan Aranitasi, born and raised in Albania, had to take many difficult steps to get to where he is now. 

So far he has very much enjoyed Triton and the surrounding area. Not only does he love the landscapes and the city of Newburyport, but also he loves the community. He feels having good people in his life is what brings him the most happiness. 

“The most important part of life is nice people,” said Aranitasi. “If you have nice people you’re going to love everything. I have very good students for the most part who are interested in my class. They learn from me, and I also learn from them.¨

Mr. Aranitasi was born and raised in Albania. Even though the country has had its conflicts, both of his parents never saw unemployment, and he had a very normal childhood. 

The Kosovo war was a conflict that started February 28 1998 and ended June 11th 1999.  Before the war Kosovo was controlled by Serbia and the Kosovo Albanian rebel group. This war affected all the surrounding countries including Albania until the conflict was ended when the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) intervened.  

Mr. A graduated from high school in Albania and wanted to pursue his academic career and go to college. He went to college in Germany and studied economics. But to stay in the college he was forced to learn German. Mr. A then came to the U.S in 2012 for more academic opportunities and went to a community college in Philadelphia and studied finance and economics along with learning English. 

Mr. Arantasi feels math can bring people together. 

Mr. Aranitasi applied to many schools for a teaching job. Triton wasn’t the only school that wanted to hire him. 

What really helped him with his decision was the area and community. He lived in Beverly with his wife and three kids. But they would always come up to Newburyport and Plum island. 

¨What I see is more than I expected,¨ he said. The community is very important to Mr. A, and he continues to find ways to connect with his fellow coworkers. 

¨I have had several conversations ẁith him, they have all been really good conversations. He is a  very smart man,¨ said Mr. Galante, a fellow math teacher at Triton. 

Mr. Aranitasi is invested in his students’ learning and life, and always does what he can to make sure they understand the subject. 

¨He likes to reference real life scenarios to help us understand the subject more,¨ said junior  Rowan Cole who, a student in his math class. 

Not only does he focus on helping his students learn but also keeps the class interesting. Junior Danny Lannan had this to say¨During class we get stretch breaks after lots of work, it’s a great time.¨ 

Mr. Arantasi has enjoyed his start to his first year at Triton high school. Not only has he connected with the students here and made their learning experiences enjoyable, he has also connected with the community outside of school enjoying the town of Newbury and Newburyport with his family.