FAREWELL: Mr. Llera says goodbye after 33 years at Poly!
Teacher and Coach Llera has been a part of the beloved Poly staff for the past 33 years. As this school year concludes he has decided to start his retirement. When approaching the kind-hearted educator for an interview he immediately became emotional. Poly High School has become such a special place to him. “I get all choked up trying to talk about it,” he said. The man himself first stepped onto the grounds on April 6, 1990; he then and now speaks of how beautiful the campus is. When he was first hired, Mr. Llera worked in the Special Education Department with his team, entitled “The Firm” for the first twenty-three years of his time here at Poly. As his career continued, he transitioned into technology and began teaching in the Career Technical Education (CTE) department for the last ten years. He developed the Design for Digital Print and, with the help of Mr. Enyeart, Video Production pathways.
Apart from being a fantastic teacher, Llera has been a phenomenal coach for the girl’s basketball team for a total of fifteen years combined over three separate occasions. Most recently, Mr. Llera led the 2021-22 “Lady Bears” to be league champions for the first time in 37 years! After many years of working with many talented coaches and athletes, he looks back fondly at these times.
Last, but certainly not least, Mr.Llera has served as the KOALA Yearbook Advisor for the last nineteen years. It is a bittersweet moment as he completes his final published yearbook after almost two decades of working on them. With love in his heart and tears in his eyes, Mr.Llera says farewell to Poly High School proud of the work he completed here, knowing he was “able to pay it forward just as my valued teachers did for me.” He will continue to root for Poly students in their success, will always cherish his time as a Bear, and continue to wear the “Green and Orange” with pride. Thank you so much for being such an influential part of so many students’ academic and athletic success! We wish you the best of luck in the next chapter of your life. Once a Bear, always a Bear!