This is one in a series of Q&A’s with employees new to Denair Unified in 2023-24.
Family: I have an older brother and older sister
School: Denair High School
Subject taught: Science
Experience and education: This is my first year of teaching. I earned my degree in animal science. While I was in school, I worked in a veterinary clinic to expand my knowledge in both the science and veterinary fields.
What attracted you to Denair? I had a couple friends in high school who transferred to Denair and always said how great their experience was.
What most inspires you about teaching? What most inspires me about teaching is when I see a student’s “light bulb” go off once they understand a topic.
What is a challenge you look forward to tackling this year? I look forward to taking on my first year of teaching and tackling all the ups and downs that come with it.
What is your favorite teaching tool or activity? I am not sure what my favorite teaching tool or activity will be exactly, but I hope Kahoot is somewhere at the top of the list, because that helped me a lot while in school.
What do you want your students to remember? I want my students to always remember, it is OK to not understand a topic right away. It might take days or weeks, but eventually it will click and everyone clicks at different times. So, they should not compare themselves to anyone else.
How can parents support what you do? Parents can support me by keeping an open line of communication with me. If they have questions, I do not want them to hesitate to ask. I will do my best to ensure that all students have a good year learning a difficult subject.
What would surprise people about your job? I think people would be surprised to know that I used to really dislike the subject that I am teaching, because it was difficult for me to understand. Eventually, I took a different approach and thought to myself it is a difficult subject, but I am passing it and if I can pass this class I can pass the next and so on.
What do you do for fun? I coach youth cheer for fun in my spare time.
This is one in a series of Q&A’s with employees new to Denair Unified in 2023-24.
Family: Husband, Wesley, and two dogs, Sasha and Bo
School: Denair High School
Subject taught: Ag biology; ag soil science; floral 1, 2, and 3; farm to fork
Experience and education: Previously taught agriculture at Delta Charter High School in Tracy for the 2022-23 school year. Worked as a 911 dispatcher for about eight years while I went to school to become a teacher. Graduated from CSU Fresno with a BS in agriculture education and an animal science emphasis.
What attracted you to Denair? I grew up in the Central Valley and Denair has a strong sense of community and family. When I felt that, I knew this was where I wanted to be.
What most inspires you about teaching? Seeing a student’s growth from the beginning of the year to the end of the year as well as those “aha” moments when you can tell a student “gets it” when they make a connection in a lesson.
What is a challenge you look forward to tackling this year? A challenge I am looking forward to tackling this year is implementing the four-point grading system and more project-based learning.
What is your favorite teaching tool or activity? My favorite teaching tool is using interactive notebooks to house all notes and student work in one location to create a learning resource and organizational tool for students.
What do you want your students to remember? I want students to remember that their goals are achievable and there is not one set path to take to reach those goals.
How can parents support what you do? Parents can support what I do by communicating and working together as a team to best support their students in achieving their goals and making sure their students have the support they need to be successful.
What would surprise people about your job? The amount of outside hours, effort and true passion that goes into being an agriculture teacher and FFA advisor.
What do you do for fun? I enjoy spending time with my family, traveling to Disneyland whenever possible, concerts and working on remodeling my house.
Classes resumed this week in the Denair Unified School District and it’s hard to tell who was more excited – the students who returned to the four campuses for the first time since May or the teachers and staff who will work closely with them for the next 10 months.
“The campuses were buzzing with excitement, but remarkably calm,” was how Superintendent Terry Metzger described the mood Wednesday. “There just was a chill vibe.”
One parent told Denair Elementary Charter Academy Principal Laura Cardenas that her children had been counting down the days until school began, so eager were they to see their friends and meet their new teachers.
That feeling was shared across all grade levels. There were lots of hugs and smiles, and even a few tears, especially from parents of the youngest students just starting their formal educations at DECA.
“I am thrilled to begin this new journey alongside our students,” said Cardenas. “Being a witness to their growth, both academically and socially, is a privilege. Every school year is a fresh canvas, and I’m eager to contribute to their learning and achievements.”
DECA has the district’s largest enrollment, with 563 students spanning transitional kindergarten to fifth grade.
At Denair High, which has 281 students, the members of the Leadership class hosted something they dubbed “Donuts and Directions.” Older students welcomed freshmen and others new to campus with an assortment of tasty donuts, then helped them find their classrooms.
One instructor told DHS Principal Breanne Aguiar that Wednesday was “the best first day he’s experienced in years.”
“Personally, the start of the school year is one of my favorite times of the year,” Aguiar said. “It’s a time for creating connections with students and families and setting the stage for the academic year ahead.”
At Denair Middle School, the Leadership class greeted everyone at the front gate Wednesday with upbeat music and a photo booth. Principal Gabriela Sarmiento is especially proud that DMS now features the popular Dual Language Immersion program at all grade levels – sixth, seventh and eighth. A quarter of the campus’ 288 students participate in the English/Spanish program.
“This is a huge accomplishment for our district and we are looking forward to promoting our first group of DLI students (to high school) this spring,” Sarmiento said.
At Denair Charter Academy, first-year Principal Jamie Pecot and her staff started the year with 145 students divided between those in K-8 who are part of the home-school program and high schoolers involved in independent study. Enrollment typically grows into the fall, especially at the high school level.
“It is exciting to start the school year off fresh and setting good habits from day one,” Pecot said.
In other action Thursday, trustees:
Approved the district’s participation in a countywide attendance campaign called “Every Day Counts” organized by the Stanislaus County Office of Education. SCOE will provide districts with marketing, graphics, social media posts and other materials that will emphasize the importance of attendance to students across all grade levels. There will be age-appropriate incentives – the biggest of which is the chance for any high school student with perfect attendance to be entered into a raffle to win a new car donated by Modesto Toyota. Amanda Silva, Denair’s senior director of student support services, said studies have shown that missing a single day of class can put students two days behind in their studies. She said Denair’s attendance rate last year averaged 93% on any given day; the district would like to raise that to 95%. Even a small increase in attendance has important financial implications for the district, which receives state funding based, in part, on how many students show up for school each day. A 1% increase in the attendance rate is worth about $213,000 to the district said Chief Business Official Daisy Swearingen.
Heard a report from high school ag teacher Roger Christianson about his students’ performance at this year’s Stanislaus County Fair. There were 28 Denair FFA members who showed animals or entered projects to be judged. Among those recognized were Conner Prock (won for his market steer, and was second and third in other categories), Landon Rock (first place for his fabricated project), Jaydah Rodriguez (two firsts, three seconds and one third for her vegetables), Dakota Rutherford (first in market class swine), Riley Lawrence (second in market class swine), Zac Christianson (first in small animals with his Blue Himalayan buck), Brenna Cole (two thirds for modern game hens and roosters), Braden Backus (first for his Blue Laced Red Wyandotte), Ethan Ibarra (first and second place for his hens), Delaney Yates (third for her duck) and Sophia Virgen (Grand Champion duck).
Approved the district’s application for an Ag Incentive Grant from the state, potentially worth $23,910. The money would be used to buy supplies for ag classes, allow students and staff to travel to conferences, and pay for other ag-related expenses. The amount is dependent upon the number of ag students and staff. Denair received about $20,000 last year.
This is one in a series of Q&A’s with employees new to Denair Unified in 2023-24.
Family: Husband, Ryan, and dog, Zeus
School: DECA
Subject taught: Third grade
Experience and education: I’ve taught fifth grade the past two years in Turlock.
What attracted you to Denair? I live locally, which makes for a very short commute and I am excited to be teaching in a small community.
What most inspires you about teaching? Seeing the growth from each individual student and watching them accomplish the goals they have set for themselves.
What is a challenge you look forward to tackling this year? A challenge I look forward to tackling this year is learning and teaching third-grade curriculum and standards.
What is your favorite teaching tool or activity? My favorite teaching tool is using raffle tickets for any and all positive behavior incentives. Students will be entered into a raffle every other week to win a prize.
What do you want your students to remember? I want students to remember to always try their very best. I want them to remember that I care about their academic and social/emotional needs.
How can parents support what you do? Parents can support what I do by communicating any questions or concerns they may have. I believe in working as a team with parents to best support their student.
What would surprise people about your job? The many “hats” a teacher wears throughout the school day.
What do you do for fun? I enjoy spending time with family and friends, camping and fishing, attending concerts and reading.
This is one in a series of Q&A’s with employees new to Denair Unified in 2023-24.
Family: I come from a family of five
School: Denair Elementary Charter Academy
Subject taught: Transitional kindergarten (TK)
Experience and education: Merced Junior College and CSU Stanislaus
What attracted you to Denair? I come from a small town myself and I have seen how close the Denair community is and I wanted to make my mark and become a part of this community and help inspire little minds.
What most inspires you about teaching? I am inspired to make connections with students, along with being able to make an impact on their life — just like my past elementary teachers made an impact on mine.
What is a challenge you look forward to tackling this year? I am excited to officially take on my first year of teaching.
What is your favorite teaching tool or activity? My favorite activity during the school day is doing interactive read-alouds. This is because it enhances imagination, creativity, memory and curiosity.
What do you want your students to remember? I want my students to remember that they are smart, kind, brave and strong!
How can parents support what you do? Parents can support me by communicating and offering suggestions that would help me provide their child a better education.
What would surprise people about your job? Something that would shock people is that a teacher’s job is never done in the eight hours they are with their students; it continues after hours and on the weekend. What do you do for fun? I enjoy traveling to the beach and reading a good book.
