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This spring, Sandia Prep is saying goodbye to three dedicated educators whose combined impact spans decades. Here's a look at their remarkable contributions.

Noel Huitt

Since 2000, Noel Huitt has been a steady force in Prep’s math department, teaching Algebra I, Pre-Algebra, Trigonometry, and sixth-grade math. Outside the classroom, she coached middle school cross country and track, high jump for upper school track, and served as a timer at countless meets. She also led the Helping Hands community service club, sponsored the seventh grade, and chaperoned ski trips.

One of her favorite memories? Celebrating the 2016 State Track and Baseball Championships -- especially meaningful since her husband, Paul, coached baseball, and their daughter, Kiersten ’16, ran track.

In retirement, Noel plans to continue tutoring and embrace a new role: grandmother. Kiersten and her husband, Colby Brown, are expecting their first child later this month.

She hopes students remember her as “welcoming, helpful, and fair,” and that she helped them build skills in organization, preparation, and self-advocacy.

“Prep has been a great place for my career,” Noel says. “It was a wonderful experience to teach at the same school with Paul and watch Kiersten become a student-athlete.”

Paul Huitt

For 26 years, Paul Huitt shaped Prep’s athletic and student life. He taught PE, served as Activities Director, seventh- and eighth-grade coordinator, SummerPrep Director, and led programs in baseball, basketball, and cross country. He also directed the school’s community service efforts.

Among his proudest moments: coaching the 2015 State Baseball Championship game when Joe Martinez ’17 pitched a perfect game.

Paul hopes he’s remembered as someone who truly cared. “I wanted every student to feel respected and supported,” he says.

He retires alongside his wife, Noel, and shares her excitement about becoming a grandparent.

Dr. Chuck Buxbaum

Chuck Buxbaum has worn many hats in his 28 years at Prep -- including one year teaching in Vietnam on sabbatical. He’s taught everything from 10th-grade biology to Comparative Anatomy and Environmental Science for upper school students, as well as seventh-grade science. His passion for environmental education extended far beyond the classroom: he chaired the sustainability committee, led the GreenDevils club, ran Earth Day celebrations, and initiated campuswide composting, recycling,blood drives, and e-waste drives. He even helped grow the Karen Lyall Garden and taught Ultimate Frisbee and tie-dye during SummerPrep.

He’s known for his puns, his passion, and his push for students to become informed, global citizens. “Now is not the time to put on blinders,” Chuck says. “Your choices -- big and small -- should reflect not just your own needs, but what’s best for your community, country, and planet.”

One moment that epitomized his teaching philosophy came in 2007. His Environmental Science students researched and testified on the Clean Cars Act at a public hearing. Their well-reasoned, passionate testimonies -- most in support, one opposing -- earned a standing ovation. Later, the students received a letter from the New Mexico Air Quality Board chair noting their testimony was referenced in the bill’s passage. The law was signed by then-Gov. Bill Richardson.

Chuck’s influence won’t end with his retirement. He’s completing a master’s degree in Addiction Counseling and plans to continue his hobbies -- including tending the Prep garden (volunteers welcome!) -- and spending time with his growing family.

His wife, Becky, recently retired from public high school teaching. Their daughters include Liat, an occupational therapist in Israel and mom to Peleg (3) and Bili (7 months); Sivan ’15, a newly minted Cornell grad in Integrative Plant Sciences and a state park ranger in Albuquerque; and Amali ’17, a Sarah Lawrence alum working in Brooklyn’s indie book scene.

Chuck leaves us with this final dad-joke gem:
Q: How many 11th graders does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: (whiny voice) “Is this gonna be on the test?”