A few weeks into the school year, a new teacher arrived at La Quinta High School and is ready for what is in store for him. 

Scott Di Lorenzo was in luck when he began searching for a school in need of a new English teacher after moving back to the Coachella Valley in June 2020 to help his family during the pandemic. 

“I’ve been teaching for about 12 years and I’ve moved around a lot,” Di Lorenzo said, “but I’m originally from the desert. I graduated from Palm Springs High School [in] 2002.” 

Di Lorenzo has taught drama for the past 12 years; however, this is his second year teaching English. He’s also the Anime Club adviser.

“I started teaching over at Palm Springs High School and I taught four years there. Then, I decided I wanted to see the world a little bit more so I took an English teaching job in South Korea,” Di Lorenzo said. 

While in high school, Di Lorenzo didn’t see college in his future, until his friend informed him about a College of the Desert assessment that would help him get out of school. 

Di Lorenzo’s attended College of the Desert for two years and then transferred to UC Santa Barbara, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in dramatic arts. Soon after, he went to Chapman University, where he earned his teaching credential and master’s degree in teaching.

Before earning his teaching credential, Di Lorenzo was required to follow a credentialed teacher to show him the ropes and how the classroom works. 

He completed his student teaching at LQHS during the 2009-2010 school year with his mentor, Jennifer Pannell, who now teaches at Indio High.

“We were actually acquaintances before because we were in a production of Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’ together. When I asked her to be my [resident] teacher, you know, we were already pretty good friends,” he said. 

About 10 years ago, Di Lorenzo moved to South Korea without knowing Korean at all but was quickly able to pick it up and understand it pretty quickly. 

“I learned how to speak a little Korean, I was able to order food at restaurants, say hello, goodbye, how are you, and show praise in Korean. I was able to understand it, but for the most part, my job was to teach English. In classrooms, they [the students] always spoke to me in English,” he said. 

Right before the onset of the pandemic, Di Lorenzo returned to California and moved to Fremont to teach theater at Irvington High School and then at Rancho Buena Vista High School. 

Though English and theater share similarities, Di Lorenzo feels that teaching English really is a new adventure and is different compared to the way he has taught in the past. 

“In English, you have a colleague group of about 20 very qualified English teachers and they all have their opinions and we’re throwing around ideas how to best suit our students,” he said. “It can be a bit overwhelming, but also reassuring knowing that you have so many people who have your back.” 

He added that in English, there are more tests and more opportunities to examine data to evaluate students’ needs, whereas, in theater, the goal is to teach empathy and how to speak well on stage.

Although English and theater require different methods of teaching, there are some similarities Di Lorenzo has recognized.

“There are some things that correlate in regards to theater history, you know because that’s all the English department, too,” Di Lorenzo said. 

He finds that English and theater are interrelated in a way where they both meet each other’s standards of breaking down literature. 

“In theatre, you’re breaking down plays to be able to realize the subtext and the underlying meaning. You need to know the theme and understand what the writer was trying to get across. Theater and English are like brother and sister all because you have to break down literature,” he said. 

What convinced Di Lorenzo to teach English was the excitement of rereading lots of books he hasn’t read since he was a teenager. The nostalgia has set in.

“Now I’m 30-something and being like, ‘Oh, wow, I totally missed this element when I was young. I’m going to make sure to bring this up to students,’ so that’s exciting to me,” he said.

As he rereads high school books like “The Great Gatsby” and “To Kill a Mockingbird,” he finds a new kind of appreciation for what he didn’t see as a teenager while reading those books. 

“Just rereading all the books that I definitely read in high school, I was like, ‘Wow, I totally missed all this figurative language because I didn’t care about it at that time.’ Through college essays and more rereading, I started appreciating figurative language even more,” Di Lorenzo said. 

Di Lorenzo believes he learns something new every day: from teaching English to meeting new students, he takes the opportunity to learn something new after every conversation.

At the beginning of distance learning, Di Lorenzo realized that teaching theater behind a screen was not for him, so he took the next school year off since it was all online.

“It was the most difficult year of teaching I’ve ever done [2019-20 school year] because theater is so live, the fact it was all done digitally, it was like a film class which I didn’t want to teach. I wanted to teach theater, but it lost its magic [on Zoom], so I decided to take the next year off,” Di Lorenzo said. 

With a fresh new start, Di Lorenzo is looking forward to seeing growth in his students throughout the year and catching up after recently having a hard year in regards to the pandemic. 

“I’m willing to put in 110% and I’m hoping that students will meet me there, too,” he said. 

He looks forward to helping students in a way that inspires them to focus on education or even improve their work ethic that will greatly benefit them in the future. He plans to take real-life challenges and create a message in his classroom that will hopefully inspire students along the way. 

“Growing up, I didn’t have a lot of opportunities. I was in the theatre, but my family was pretty impoverished,” he said. “Now, I’m actually a first-generation college graduate. Even when I was a junior, I didn’t think I was going to be college-bound. Now I’m here with a master’s degree and 12 years of teaching experience.” 

He hopes his story will inspire students to see themselves in him and realize that it’s never too late to reach out for opportunities. 

Outside of the classroom, Di Lorenzo’s life would seem like the typical English teacher’s lifestyle, but there’s so much more than meets the eye. 

He’s also a working actor [in theater plays], a carnival game addict, cinema lover, swimmer and has even been in several game shows, like “Let’s Make a Deal” and “Wheel of Fortune.” 

Di Lorenzo has been known in the outside world for his strong passion for acting and plans to use his skills to help students in the theater. 

“I’ve already talked with the theater teacher and said that I’m more than happy to come in at any point to help out with anything she needs. I’m more than happy to volunteer my time to talk with kids and help with acting techniques,” Di Lorenzo said. 

He hopes that the theater students know he’s an extra resource on campus if they’re preparing for competitions or college auditions.

In the eyes of his students, Di Lorenzo has already made his impressions and made sure his students are as comfortable as possible in his class. 

Avery Hull ‘23 is enrolled in Di Lorenzo’s English III CP class. They initially believed he was a strict teacher, but actually left them with surprise. 

“When he was introducing himself, he started singing when he said he liked theater, which caught me by surprise. It’s not every day when a teacher starts belting out, singing in front of the class,” Hull said. 

Hull finds Di Lorenzo to be a caring teacher by prioritizing students’ needs.

“He has signs on his wall saying hate has no home here. He’s very respectful to his students and always very kind. He always tries to make sure his students are in a safe environment,” Hull said. 

Kaylee Salazar ‘23, who is also enrolled in his English III CP class, finds that Di Lorenzo’s energy and personality are inclusive. 

“I like that he’s very energetic and he really knows how to talk. He explains things really well and [in-depth],” she said. 

She believes he will help students come out of their shells after students interacted with a whole year of online school. 

“He’s a theater teacher, so he deals with that kind of stuff, like being shy on stage. I think that will really benefit the classroom in getting kids to interact with each other, talking and presenting out loud to students,” Salazar said.