In the Michael Teitelman Science Center basement, scientific wonders occur on a daily basis. They ignite in the wall of flames bursting up from a puddle of ethanol; in the sparks flying around crackling aluminum balls colliding mid-air. The mastermind behind these experiments is none other than Chemistry Teacher Dr. Anthony Pelletier, fondly known as “Doc” by students.

After 24 years teaching at Bishop’s, Doc will retire in June, leaving behind a legacy defined by his passion for inspiring students to learn like true scientists. However, he also leaves amidst a conflict with the administration — one that concluded his time here earlier than expected.

Doc, first a lab-scientist and professor of molecular biology at Scripps College, came to Bishop’s in August 2001 with his growing family: a two-year-old daughter and a son on the way.

He began as a chemistry teacher, but Doc explained, “When I teach biology, it’s from a chemical point of view. And when I teach chemistry, I’d bring in a lot of bio.”

Chemistry Teacher Dr. Reynolds, who joined him in teaching chemistry in 2009, added “He’s always made stuff out[side] of the textbook. That’s the sign of a good, creative teacher. He engages his students to think. Because sometimes you don’t know the answer, but … it forces you to think and experiment. And that’s science,” she explained.

Doc gained this creative wisdom from his graduate school nights when he conducted “midnight experiments” to test his ideas. “When I was a researcher and guiding graduate students or postdocs, one of the comments I used to make was, unfortunately, I don’t know how to tell the difference between a crazy idea and a brilliant idea other than doing the experiment,” Doc said. “So, the repeated mantra in my lab was: just do the experiment.”

Unsurprisingly, Doc has always watched his students groan in frustration with a small smile on his face; because in these failures, he is teaching them to be comfortable being wrong. 

Doc’s lesson made an impact on many students, including Oliver Baum (‘26), one of his former Honors Chemistry students. “I’m improving and working on being able to be fine with being wrong and uncertain in general,” Oliver explained. “Doc really helped me with my transition from sophomore to junior year. I’m much more confident with myself. This year, if I focused on every single small question I got wrong or worried about every test, I would have imploded by now.”

Many of Doc’s lessons were special because of how much they impacted students in their futures. It was during the first few weeks of Doc’s time at Bishop’s, after the Twin Tower attacks on September 11, 2001, that Doc first realized this. “There was a student,” Doc said, “And as I was walking into the gym for the announcement, I recognized her, so I put my hand up to wave. Instead of waving, she took my hand and just squeezed it. I realized at that moment I have a different job than what I thought I had.”

To Doc, Bishop’s had become family. And through the years, he found valuable connections. “While I certainly teach Chemistry, those, for the most part, are not the lessons that are gonna stick with the students,” he said.

To some students, Doc was not only their chemistry teacher, but also their coach. Sailing Team Co-Captain Celeste Oder (‘26) described Doc as a valuable mentor to her — on the water, in the classroom, and in life. “Even if I wasn’t sure or had questions, I could always go talk to him…Same thing on the water,” she said. “He’s really helped me learn to build my confidence as a leader, but also as a sailor, [and] as a person.”

Celeste noted that, funnily enough, through seeking his guidance over the years, she has also adopted some of Doc’s sense of humor. “His joke was always that he likes to make fun of his ‘favorite’ students more so that when he makes fun of kids he doesn’t like, then they think it’s all just in fun — because it was,” she explained. 

Through all his fun jokes, however, Doc faced numerous challenges — especially when he first started working at Bishop’s. As a new dad, balancing teaching with being a parent was hard. With both his wife and him working, they were trading care of his daughter and newborn son. As a result, his daughter spent a lot of time on-campus with Doc. He recalled fondly that junior girls would offer to look after Sophia when he was busy.

Doc also met with Former Head of School Mr. Teitelman about bringing his daughter to class. “He looked at me and said, ‘Well, are you still teaching Chemistry?’ I said, ‘Of course.’ And he said, ‘Then I think it’s a good thing for students to see an adult dealing with a challenge so gracefully,’” Doc remembered, smiling. “We’re not just teachers, we’re role models.”

Doc acknowledged that while it’s a “decent time” for his retirement, his retirement was not under the most ideal circumstances. While no single factor was the direct cause for his leave, others including the length of his career, an incident arose in October 2024, when, according to Doc, a student (who he did not name) came into his office hours to argue for a point back on a quiz taken earlier that September. Following an extended period of back-and-forth, this student reported Doc to the School for harassment, opening the school’s investigation.

“Nothing that I said was inappropriate, rude, [or] mean,” Doc said — he was explaining the student’s mistake.

However, upon bringing up his concerns to the administration that this student was being “very dishonest and manipulative,” Doc felt a lack of support. “There was absolutely no respect given to my experience … and, also, my assessment of the kid’s dishonesty.”

After the student’s report, Doc was placed under “no retaliation,” a standard policy across institutions that protects individuals who have reported misconduct from facing repercussions after voicing concerns. Doc said this limited his ability to correct the student again if they made an error. The administration also assigned Doc counseling sessions with a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) counselor and a written reflection about his alleged misconduct. Since the administration failed to meet their own deadlines, this process dragged out for more than a month. The administration declined to comment.

Doc felt that the administration’s lack of follow-through created a “hostile work environment” for him. “I was hiding in the basement because I was feeling embarrassed. I basically was staying down here and not going up to lunch,” he said. “It kept me up at night, worried about harassment charges.”

After complaining about the month-long delay, Doc’s case was handed off to the Head of Human Resources Katerina Lucas, who set him up with his assigned counselor. After his first session, Doc decided that he didn’t want to “waste” his counselor’s time, still convinced he “didn’t do anything wrong.”

During this time, the student was caught attempting academic dishonesty. Doc remarked, “I think [they] played the administration beautifully well.” This student left the School in December 2024.

In January, Doc awaited the administration’s response to him. “And the answer was nothing,” he said. “Nobody from the administration felt the need to say, ‘Hey, guess you were right about that. Sorry.’ They just stuck to their guns. So, I thought enough and resigned.”

With his departure, Doc leaves a large pair of shoes to fill for his successor. Throughout his 24 years here, Doc certainly grew into a keystone member of our Bishop’s family. “He has an incredible depth of knowledge and that is a difficult thing to replace in a high school teacher. And he’s been able to engage kids at a level that not most teachers can,” Dr. Reynolds said. Mirth glimmered in her eyes as she continued, “Some of my favorite [memories] were watching him and [Former Physics Teacher] Mr. Weiner try and one up each other on Star Trek trivia. It was pretty darn funny. That camaraderie has been great.”

Celeste added that some of her favorite conversations with Doc were on the van, when they were driving down to Mission Bay for sailing practice. “It’s like extra office hours just for the 15 minutes it takes to get over there. Almost any question about science that someone had, he could talk about,” she said. “I remember once someone had some kind of food and they were reading the ingredients on the back … and Doc was just explaining what they were.” 

After Doc’s retirement, he plans to remain as the Bishop’s sailing coach and spend time with his family. As our conversation concluded, he glanced around the room, taking in the mounds of lab equipment and fire-proof cabinets, one of which he used to explode sodium and water in. “One of the years of my research class, a group of kids who were very clever used to prank me quite a bit,” he said, reminiscing. “One day, they got a hold of the label maker and put up labels all over that are still here. I haven’t had the heart to tear them down. Though, the one on the door that says, ‘Are you sure you want to leave, Doc?’ is gonna be very poignant the last time I leave and go through the door.”

Doc left his own mark on Bishop’s — through the hearts of students, faculty, and the Chemistry curriculum. In the 24 years he taught here, he was able to teach both of his children, see them graduate, and turn countless teenagers into prosperous, confident adults ready to take on the world. While his retirement came earlier than expected, we wish him happiness and peace as he sails the endless horizon of the future.