Features

Occasionally, when Evergreen Middle School science teacher Jeff McCarthy says goodbye to a class of students, he offers an offhand salute.

He likens it to a gesture that late-night television comedian Johnny Carson often made to his right-hand man, Ed McMahon. It’s a sign of respect, a sign of farewell.

McCarthy may make that offhand salute on May 30, the last day of this school year, when he says goodbye to his last class of eighth-graders. McCarthy, 63, is retiring after 35 years of teaching, 21 of them at EMS.