Short Biography of Mr. OJ

A little about myself...

I am a Phoenix native having grown up in South Phoenix while attending Tempe schools (Broadmor, Mckemy, and Tempe High School). After being mentored and inspired by a great teacher at Tempe High, I decided to attend Arizona State University to become an educator (graduating in 2006). At the beginning of my career, I taught 7th grade English at Connolly Middle School in Tempe. In 2008, I received a job offer at Marcos de Niza and have been teacher here since. I have taught many different classes (too many!): Freshman English, Sophomore English, Honors Sophomore English and Advanced Composition (English 101/102), Resource Freshman English, Resource Sophomore English, Cotaught Biology, AP Language and Composition and AP Literature and Composition. In 2011, I received my Masters degree in Special Education from Northern Arizona University as special education has always been at the forefront of educational theory and practice. Five years ago, many teachers had never heard of behavioral assessments, antecedent-behavior-consequence, reading fluency's link to reading comprehension, etc. But I digress...

My love of Tempe and its wonderful pedestrian and bike friendly laws led my wife and I to purchase a home in the neighborhood near Marcos. At that home, I'm the luckiest guy on earth -- I get to be a father and husband. My daughter attends Tempe schools and my wife also works in education. I also own/cohabitate with two very malodorous Labrador retrievers and four glorious chickens (the latter in the yard -- mostly).