“For me teaching is [about] fostering today’s youth and helping them grow into the best person they can be.” – Jason Camp

Here at LHS, we often focus on the outcome of education far more than the process. We even hear about ‘ideal’ outcome and skills to be learned here at LHS every single morning over the intercom. But behind all of that are the people who help build the foundation. One of those people is Ludlow’s very own Jason Camp, whose journey from student to seasoned educator reflects not just a career, but a lifetime of learning, resilience, and purpose.

With 13 years of teaching experience and a reputation for connecting with students, challenging learners, and encouraging creativity, Camp has become a vital part of our school’s heart and ecosystem.

Humble Beginnings

Camp did not always know teaching in the classroom would be his calling. Growing up in Southampton, Mass., he wasn’t always the best student (according to himself), at least not when he graduated from Hampshire Regional in 2008. So it’s safe to say that his path to teaching started not with certainty, but with a series of small, meaningful moments.

“The idea of being a teacher was in the back of my mind toward the end of high school, but I didn’t decide and fully commit to becoming a teacher until the end of my sophomore year of college,” He recalled. “I love helping other people.  Teaching allows me to help people understand things they didn’t know/understand before. Clearly for Camp, teaching was never just about having a job, it was about making a difference.

Stepping into education

Even before Camp knew he wanted to be a teacher, he was pursuing higher education at Westfield State University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in math in 2012, and later earned his master’s degree in math from Western New England University in 2021. After deciding on his major late, he didn’t just have insane levels of coursework, but also early experiences in classrooms through student teaching at Westfield Vocational High School. In that experience, Camp said, “Many of my students were not interested in math, so I had to challenge myself to find ways to keep them engaged with the material.”

“It was challenging starting my first teaching job at 21 years old,” Camp said. “You can’t fully anticipate what problems you will have in a classroom until you start teaching, especially at different schools with different student populations.” His early experience helped him to realize the balance needed in multiple aspects of teaching, something you can only learn by doing.

After graduating, he accepted a position at St. Mary’s High School in Westfield, and one year later, he accepted another position at Hampshire Regional High School. After completing a year there, he accepted his position at LHS. Switching schools three years in a row made the already steep learning curve of being a teacher even steeper. Nothing about it was easy, but as he says, “You do what you have to do to succeed.”

Growth, Adaptation, and Resilience

Over the years, Camp has seen education evolve and has grown along with it. From whiteboards to Chromebooks, overhead projectors to Google Slides, the tools have changed, but the mission has stayed the same. When it comes to new technology, Mr. Camp stated his favorite tool has been Desmos.com because it makes functions easier to understand to his students, which is always his goal.

One of the hallmarks of his teaching style is the ability to remain flexible with his students while maintaining high expectations. Whether through sharing the learning styles that helped him, offering comparisons to other things to help students understand complex topics, or using real-world applications for the material he teaches, Mr. Camp has built a reputation for meeting students where they are and helping them rise and learn.

Liam Divenuto, a student in Mr. Camp’s hardest class, Honors Pre-calculus, sustained a relatively severe concussion early in the school year. How did Mr. Camp respond as a teacher to help Liam? According to Liam, Camp “helped make sure I prioritized my health over school, he told me not to mess around with brain injuries. Once I was healthy again, he was very sympathetic and helpful with going over some stuff with me individually.”

Impact That Lasts

For many students, Mr. Camp has been more than just a teacher. Students remember not just the lessons he taught, but the time he took to listen, encourage, and guide them through things they didn’t know.

For Vincent Ribero, a soon-to-be Ludlow alumnus from the class of 2025, he compared the difference between Mr. Camp and other math teachers by saying that Mr. Camp was “more tolerable” than any other teacher in the building. Vincent went on to say that was because “[Mr. Camp] actually made sure I understood the content and explained how to do it really well.”

Stories of his support stretch across years and generations of students. Whether helping someone discover their passion for math, encouraging students to speak up and supporting a healthy classroom ecosystem, or writing letters of recommendation for students, Mr. Camp has shown what it means to invest in people, not just performance.

Mr. Camp’s specific philosophy as a teacher helps him ‘invest in people’ in a mutually respectful way that most teachers don’t. When asked about his classroom philosophy, he said “My students are people and they should be treated like people.  I find that if I treat my students with respect, dignity, and compassion, I am more likely to get respect, dignity, and compassion in return.” He also stated that he holds honesty and truth to a high value as a teacher, and it helps his students when he is honest with them.

Additionally, after 13 years, he says the most meaningful part of his job is the relationships he builds with his students, and that is what keeps him coming back year after year.

As for his advice for new teachers? “Learn to laugh at yourself.  I embarrass myself at least once a day in front of a class.  If I own my mistakes and laugh at myself, then me and the students are laughing together; instead of the alternative, my students laughing at me.”

A Legacy Still in the Making

Mr. Camp represents the best of what teaching can be: passionate, evolving, and very human. Classrooms may change, tools may evolve, but the heart of teaching will never change. And that heart is the human aspect of teaching, the relationship from student to teacher.

As we celebrate teachers like Mr. Camp, we’re reminded that its not just the curriculum that leaves a mark. It’s the care, consistency, and quiet strength of showing up every single day ready to change lives.

And in that regard, Mr. Camp is not just a teacher, he is a legacy in progress.