History Teacher Robert Bordas Retires From Teaching After 28 Years

Beloved history teacher Robert Bordas retired Feb. 5th  after 28 years of teaching, having spent the last nine years at Cambridge.  

Before, he had taught at Milton until the new opportunity at Cambridge opened up.  

“The best memories I have of Cambridge surround the people with whom I had the pleasure of working,” Bordas said in an email. “The staff is tremendous. I consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to work at such a great place with such quality individuals.” 

Bordas said he plans to travel once the pandemic eases. He said he hopes to travel the western U.S. with his wife, as well as Italy, England, Spain and Eastern Europe. He said his wife has a friend who has lived in Spain for more than 30 years.   

Junior Renee Jansen Van Vuuren, one of Bordas’s former students, said he was a “really good teacher.”  

“He always went over the material several times to make sure we understood it. He also always made the material relatable to present time so we could make connections,” she said in a text message. 

Social Studies teacher Lauren Hall said Bordas took great pride in his students’ work. She and Bordas had an annual competition to see whose students could get the better AP U.S. History test scores. 

“Each year, Mrs. Hall and I put a friendly wager on whose students will come out on top. She has won a few times, as have I. In the end, the credit goes to the students who put in the time and effort to make the two of us look good,” said Bordas. 

According to Hall, Bordas was known for his fascinating tales of his childhood in Pittsburgh. After he left, Hall said the social studies department reminisced “about all these characters that would appear in all of his stories and how ridiculous they were.” 

Even students were fans of his teaching and storytelling. 

“I really enjoyed when we just took notes. He would tell the most bizarre facts that would make the whole class laugh and keep us on our toes,” said Jansen Van Vuuren. 

Bordas was cherished by his co-workers and is a very thoughtful and caring person, said Hall. 

“He’ll come by and see if everything’s okay and see what he can do. When I was sick out in the hospital last month, he offered to drive me to the swim meet so I could go watch my athletes swim even though I couldn’t drive myself,” she said.  

“He’s just a good friend and a great teacher,” she said.  

“I know he’s been texting and messaging some of us in the department all week,” said Hall. “So I don’t think he’s really going anywhere, but I will miss seeing him every day for sure.”