Teaching with legacy and purpose
When Jerrence Garrity was 8, his father, who owned an HVAC business, taught him how HVAC systems worked, what to look for when they fail, and what to do to repair them. Now, decades later, Garrity is not only the owner of Garrity Heating and Air, but also teaches the skills necessary to work on them to freshmen and sophomores at Career Institute East.
Garrity, a graduate of David W. Carter High School, isn’t new to teaching. He taught English Language Arts and Reading at John Lewis Social Justice Academy at Oliver Wendell Holmes in 2012 and later at D.A. Hulcy STEM Middle School in 2016. His father, he said, also taught HVAC at Skyline High School from 1996 until he retired in 2010.
Garrity, who first worked for Dallas ISD in 1995 as a summer helper for the Maintenance and Facility Services department, said he is returning to the classroom for 2025-2026 in honor of his father.
“His spirit is with me when I’m in the classroom,” he said. “I can feel him there, and it’s kind of what made me come back, because he poured his heart and his soul into teaching and not just teaching—HVAC as well.”
Garrity learned to love the trade not only because his father taught it to him, he said, but also because he likes “to see people being comfortable in their households.” He mentioned his experience as an HVAC technician for the district gave him a new perspective on the importance of a comfortable learning environment for students and teachers.
“It’s just a passion of mine to see people comfortable, especially when I was in maintenance and going into the classrooms,” he said.
As a teacher, Garrity is now dedicated to preparing students for life after graduation. His goal, he said, is to help them learn a trade they can rely on.
“The idea is that they come away with a certification,” he explained. This gives the students a “steppingstone into the workforce” and helps set them up for success.
Garrity said one of the most memorable parts of teaching for him was when a former student called him, years later, to ask for his advice.
“When they come back and talk to you, it just shows a lot,” he said. “It’s these moments of connection and impact that make the job so rewarding.”
For Garrity, teaching is a two-way street: “The teacher has to have that zeal and that enthusiasm just as well as the students do. It is very hard, but no teacher can reach 100% of students, but as long as you reach one, you’ve done your job.”
In his classroom, he relies on a method that ensures every student participates and learns from his peers. Through structured cooperation and engagement, the method keeps any one student from dominating the conversation, he said.
With the new school year beginning, he hopes new teachers know that teaching will be overwhelming at first, but “to ponder the thought that things get better.”
“We teachers have to dig deep, especially on those days we may not be feeling good and we can’t leave the campus or maybe going through something,” he said. “You have to be trained. You have to work through it, fight through it, and get through it for your students.”
