PHS Yearbook Dedication Honors Andy Bachman
The 2019 PHS Troiad yearbook dedication honors an outstanding classroom educator, coach, mentor and person, Mr. Andy Bachman.
Mr. Andrew Bachman grew up in Northeast Philadelphia and now lives in Upper Salford Township with his wife, Tina and their two sons, Ryan, 14, and Riley, 11. His education began at Rhawnhurst School in Philadelphia, where he later moved into Our Saviour Christian School for 7th and 8th grade. He then went to Northeast High School also in Philadelphia.
After graduation, Mr. Bachman attended Millersville University where he received his Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics. He then earned his Master’s in Education at Gratz College. As a young boy, Andy played soccer and basketball as well as being involved in Boy Scouts. Growing up, Andy and his family would take vacations to different campgrounds in various 
states along the East Coast.
They spent a lot of time camping around Lancaster and near Millersville. They spent a week each year in Cherrystone Campground on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, fishing, and crabbing. In high school, he wrestled for Northeast HS and continued wrestling at Millersville University. He was also a goalie for the Men’s Intramural Lacrosse Team. Later, Andy trained in various martial arts including SOMBO, Judo, Taekwondo, and Krav Maga.
He also enjoyed rappelling at Chickies Rock in Lancaster County. This training led to opportunities to travel to Caracas, Venezuela and compete against the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Mongolia, Israel, Japan, China, and Britain. Andy has been involved with the Boy Scouts not only as a young boy but also with his two sons where he served as Den Leader and Cubmaster and currently a Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 16. Mr. Bachman has mentored many young athletes having been a SOMBO instructor, Judo instructor at the Pottstown Judo Club as well as a coach of PMS Wrestling, PHS Varsity Field Hockey Coach & Varsity Girl’s Lacrosse Coach. In 2000, he was also named ESPN Coach of the Week for Pottstown High, Girl’s Lacrosse.
Mr. Bachman wanted to be a teacher because he had a knack for explaining a concept in a way that was unique from how others would explain it. He chose to be a math teacher because he liked math, specifically geometry. He started his teaching career at Simon Gratz High School in Philadelphia. While teaching at Simon Gratz, Pottstown School District Superintendent Dr. Frank Heifer was at Simon Gratz to observe the program that Mr. Bachman was teaching. He and Dr. Heifer began talking and eventually realized that they both had a love of Martial Arts. Dr. Heifer happened to be the founder of the Pottstown Judo Club. He asked Mr. Bachman if he wanted to come to work in Pottstown. He DID come for an interview and was hired to teach math at the High School. Mr. Bachman was named Teacher of the Year for the Pottstown School District and became a runner up for the Pennsylvania Teacher of the year. Later in his career, he left the classroom to become a teacher mentor and instructional coach helping teachers find and implement ways of improving instruction. He later returned to the classroom teaching Math and has since transitioned to the Engineering Teacher of a program he has built from the ground up.
He has helped numerous students navigate the post-secondary process both as a coach sending films and contacting colleges as well as a CTE teacher helping students get internships and jobs at Exelon as well as other places. Most recently, Mr. Bachman helped Shane Duncan and Asgar Ali earn a DOW scholarship so that could travel to Ecuador. They arrived in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador and spent the day touring the city. The following day they made the 8-hour journey into the Amazon to the village where they helped build a kitchen for the village school. In the upcoming school year, he has helped two more students earn another scholarship and will be traveling with then to Kenya Africa on his next humanitarian adventure.