• Mr. Percoco believes that history did not happen inside the four walls of a classroom or between the cover of a book. It happened out in the world, and to that world students are dispatched. Rather than simply pursue textbook knowledge, students encounter real-world learning through a series of individualized field trips. For students "history" becomes not only a chronicle of past events, but a genuine predictor of the road that lies ahead.

• Mr. Percoco believes that students and teachers work best together when it becomes a genuinely shared experience. He lets his students know that he likes his job, that he likes working with young people, and that he derives great joy from his students' successes, taking them and their lives seriously. He also finds it equally important to not take himself too seriously. He believes that authentic teaching of history is really rooted in leading young people on a voyage of discovery; a journey where they uncover who they are, who they are becoming, and working to figure out their place in the world.

“Students who have had James Percoco as their American History teacher leave his classroom with a deeper and more genuine understanding of what made the United States of America great and what it will take to keep it that way. Students love him for his passion for his subject, his commitment to teaching, his concern for them as individuals, his willingness to listen to them and to address them as young adults; they also admire him for his integrity, his sense of ethics and his dedication to moral values.”

Paul Wardinski, Principal

 “Jim is unique among high school teachers in that he always gets his students to see beyond the textbook and the classroom, giving them a chance to view history from different perspectives. Pulling from his vast repertoire of teaching strategies, his students are never bored! Without a doubt 'Percoco' makes a difference in his students' lives, and has done so for thirty years! He is an exceptional teacher."

Jennifer Shearin, Former Student