SUNDERLAND — For the first time in nearly three decades, a familiar face will not be at Sunderland Elementary School on the first day of class this fall. For two years, he taught at King Faisal School, a private elite elementary school for boys, before the couple returned to Japan. After budget cuts in 2009 eliminated the Spanish program, Howell worked part-time at the elementary school and Frontier Regional School teaching English as a second language before returning to the elementary school full-time. “We always felt very welcomed in the Sunderland Elementary School because he was there.” Former Sunderland Elementary School teacher Matt Howell rides his bike across the Sunderland Bridge.