Tag Archives: Class Act

Class Act! 10 Questions for Rosa Zamudio

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Rosa Zamudio

Submitted by Denair Middle School

Name: Rosa Zamudio

Family: My big family includes my parents, four sisters, three brothers, seven nephews and four nieces. We all live in Riverbank except for my older sister, who lives in L.A. with her three children.

School: Denair Middle School

Position: Bilingual school secretary

Experience/education: I have a BA in Education from Ashford University in San Diego. Before working for DUSD, I worked for a head start program for eight years as a secretary, social worker and data technician. I also worked as a library assistant for the Stanislaus County Library. I love books, so one of my future career goals is to become a full-time children’s librarian.

What most inspires you about working at Denair Middle School? What inspires me the most about working at Denair Middle School is seeing students really trying their best to succeed in school. Some students really care about turning in their work and getting good grades and, to me, that is very inspiring.

What are your biggest challenges as a classified staff member? I have just recently become a classified staff member working for DUSD so I haven’t really found any big challenges yet.

What is your favorite support tool or activity? Being patient works for me! I think that taking the time to learn something new or taking the time to help someone is a great way to become an efficient co-worker and great team player.

What do you want your students to remember? I want students to remember that with just a little effort, great things can happen. Doing their homework, behaving in class and just being a good person can help them succeed both personally and academically.

How can parents support what you do? Parents can support what I do by being accessible and being willing to work with office staff. Continue reading “Class Act! 10 Questions for Rosa Zamudio” »

Class Act! 10 Questions for Carlos Mendoza

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Carlos Mendoza

Submitted by Denair Charter Academy

Name: Carlos Mendoza

Family: I come from a family of six and I’m the youngest of four siblings.

School: Denair Charter Academy

Subject taught: All subjects with a focus on math.

Experience and education: I have worked in Denair Unified School District for about five years. I have a bachelor of arts degree in psychology.

What most inspires you about working in Denair Charter Academy? What inspires me most is seeing how much a student can grow with their teacher and the comradery between all the staff members.

What are your biggest challenges as a classified staff member? As a classified staff member, I have the ability to help any who are in need of assistance. Even though I want to help everyone, sadly I am not able to be in more than one place.

What is your favorite support tool or activity? My favorite support tool/activity to do with students are giving the students positive reinforcement and reassurance in their capabilities. Those are a few of the tools I’ve learned from the Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) program, which is why I am looking forward to continue use of PBIS in the years to come.

What do you want your students to remember? I want my students to remember that they are capable of achieving anything their heart desires — all they have to do is try. Life may not always go as one plans, but we have to learn how to roll with the punches. And if the path they are walking on is too difficult, then they have two options. One is to keep pushing forward and the path will eventually get better; or select a new path to walk on from the millions of paths that are out there. I want nothing but the best for my students and I don’t their failures to hold them back. I want their failures to give them the wisdom to grow into their full potential and push them forward; like Victor Kiam once said, “Even if you fall on your face, you’re still moving forward.”

How can parents support what you do? Parents can support what I do by supporting their own children, since most of the learning will happen at home. Being an advocate for their child is one of the greatest examples of support a parent can provide. Continue reading “Class Act! 10 Questions for Carlos Mendoza” »

Class Act! 10 Questions for Molly Hanson

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Molly Hanson

Submitted by Denair High School

Name:  Molly Hanson

Family: My parents live in Clements along with my brother, who is attending MJC, and my sister, who is finishing her senior year at Utah State University.  The rest of my family is located throughout central California, with a concentration in Dos Palos, where my mom’s side farms.

School: Denair High School

Subject taught: Ag Earth Science, Ag Biology, Ag Leadership, Floral Design 1 & 2 and Intro to Ag

Experience and education:  This is my first year teaching high school. I got my bachelor of science degree in agricultural communications from the University of Wyoming and my master’s in agriculture education from Cal Poly.

Why most inspires you about teaching?  I am so inspired by students when they get excited about the material we’re learning.  It’s a fantastic feeling to have them energetic about it because the energy is kinetic in the classroom. When one gets excited, the rest do, too.

What are your biggest challenges as a teacher?  My biggest challenge has been to keep up with all my classes and to mold myself into the best teacher I can be.  Boy, it is tough and there’s been some tears, but then a struggling student gets an A on a test and it makes all the difference.

What is your favorite teaching tool or activity? “Jeopardy!”  I was shocked at how well the students responded to it!  We use it as a tool for test prep and they love to play and have said numerous times how much it’s helped them remember the material.

How has Common Core affected your classroom strategy? Ag has always been pretty closely aligned with Common Core; it’s not uncommon to incorporate multiple areas into our subject matter, so it fit in nearly seamlessly with our area.  I also learned to teach with Common Core so it was a little easier for me to adapt to it since it’s what I’ve been using since I started. Continue reading “Class Act! 10 Questions for Molly Hanson” »

Class Act! 10 questions for Tanya Rock

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tanya-rock

Submitted by Denair Middle School

Name: Tanya Rock

Family: Husband, Nick; son, Sean (9); daughter, Brianna (7)

School: Denair Middle School

Subject taught: Math

Experience and education: After earning my degree and teaching credential at CSU Stanislaus, I began teaching math at Prescott Junior High.  After four years of teaching, I made the decision to be a stay-at-home mom for a while.  When both of my children were old enough to be in school, I began working part time as a substitute teacher at their school.  This is my first year back to teaching full time.

Why most inspires you about teaching? The students.

What are your biggest challenges as a teacher? I’d have to say that my biggest challenge is meeting the students’ needs on the various levels that they are on in the time constraint of 50 minutes per day.

What is your favorite teaching tool or activity?  I find whiteboards to be especially helpful in math.  They allow students to practice problems and work out ideas while allowing me to quickly assess how each student is doing.

How has Common Core affected your classroom strategy? I’ve found it to be more effective to guide the students to discoveries in learning rather than to just tell them things directly at times.

What do you want your students to remember? Math may not always seem easy at first, but everyone has his own way of learning, and with patience and perseverance everyone can be successful.

How can parents support what you do? I would say that the greatest support that parents can give is to spend time with their child and to communicate with both their child and with me.

What will it take to improve academic success in DUSD schools? I am new to the district, so I am unsure of this answer! Continue reading “Class Act! 10 questions for Tanya Rock” »

Class Act! 10 questions for Lori Quillen

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lori-quillen-pic

Submitted by Denair Charter Academy

Name: Lori Quillen

Family: Married with two little boys

School: Denair Charter Academy

Subject taught: Sixth- and seventh-grade home-school independent studies

Experience and education: Bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Azusa Pacific University. I have taught kindergarten in Southern California, second grade in the Turlock Unified School District and have home-schooled middle school for a local charter family. I also have been a youth ministry leader for 10 years.

What most inspires you about teaching? I’m inspired when students realize that they’re capable of more than they realized.  This might be academically, but could also be socially or emotionally.

What are your biggest challenges as a teacher? My biggest challenge is convincing students that their education is a priority when they have personal or family challenges outside of the classroom that are, understandably, distracting them from learning.

What is your favorite teaching tool or activity? My favorite teaching strategy is called Power Teaching.  It’s a method of instruction that engages students with visual, auditory and kinesthetic interaction to maximize their learning potential.  Not only is it a fun way of learning, it’s a fun way to teach!

How has Common Core affected your classroom strategy? The biggest switch has been moving from teaching to the test, where student would regurgitate memorized answers, to teaching students to justify their thinking.  Students are now being challenged to provide evidence for their answers.  For example, this last week in math I asked students to become math lawyers and defend their answers by providing each other with a visual to demonstrate their thinking. Continue reading “Class Act! 10 questions for Lori Quillen” »