2024 Teachers of the Year
Meet the 2024
Meet the 2024
Teachers of the Year
Teachers of the Year
JenniferNanniniTOY2024.mp4“You are a lifelong learner.” Those 5 words are the most spoken words in my class and embody who I am as a teacher and as a person. My name is Jennifer Nannini and I teach Universal Transitional Kindergarten at Hancock Elementary. Our school is made up of 98% military families. I take great pride in serving families who sacrifice so much for mine. I have been teaching for 14 years. Connecting with families and building communities is a great passion of mine. I am very involved in my school’s community. I run an afterschool tennis program (I had to learn how to play tennis to run it), serve on the PTF, and organize staff workout groups with VEBA, just to name a few. Being a school with a revolving door of students coming and going, having a strong community is instrumental in the success of our students. I am inspired daily by my wonderful colleagues and feel so honored to be a representative of all the hard work that is done here by so many.
I grew up in Fresno, California. Being a lifelong learner, I decided to learn how to play water polo in middle school and not just “doggy paddle” in the pool. Through hard work and dedication, I was a two time All-American goalie in high school. I went on to be a division one collegiate scholarship athlete who played for UCSB. Go Gauchos! It was through sports that I found my passion in leading and motivating others. I work hard everyday to teach kids that YOU have the power over what you think, what you say, and how you behave. You have the power to change your circumstances. I wanted to become a teacher to help kids see their potential like coaches and teachers helped me see mine. I decided to continue my learning by enrolling this past year at SDSU. I am currently working on getting my Masters in Educational Leadership and an Administrative Credential. In my free time, I spend it with my family whom I adore. I have been happily married to my husband for 11 years and we have two beautiful girls. My husband also works for the district and is a great inspiration to me. I am so excited and honored to continue to work with this community and spread awareness about the resilience and amazingness of the military child!
I grew up in Fresno, California. Being a lifelong learner, I decided to learn how to play water polo in middle school and not just “doggy paddle” in the pool. Through hard work and dedication, I was a two time All-American goalie in high school. I went on to be a division one collegiate scholarship athlete who played for UCSB. Go Gauchos! It was through sports that I found my passion in leading and motivating others. I work hard everyday to teach kids that YOU have the power over what you think, what you say, and how you behave. You have the power to change your circumstances. I wanted to become a teacher to help kids see their potential like coaches and teachers helped me see mine. I decided to continue my learning by enrolling this past year at SDSU. I am currently working on getting my Masters in Educational Leadership and an Administrative Credential. In my free time, I spend it with my family whom I adore. I have been happily married to my husband for 11 years and we have two beautiful girls. My husband also works for the district and is a great inspiration to me. I am so excited and honored to continue to work with this community and spread awareness about the resilience and amazingness of the military child!
Lisa CliffnerTOY2024.mp4I went back to school and got a teaching credential when I was 47 years old and now, 13 years later, I still think it was worth all the hard work it took to bring me to where I am today. Looking back, I’m not sure why it took me so long to realize that I have loved being a teacher ever since I was a college sophomore helping my freshman suite mates with their calculus work sets. This is my 13th year of teaching math and 8th year of teaching middle school math for San Diego Unified School District.
When my own two children were young, I started thinking about what work I wanted to do once my children were past their early elementary school years. I had been working as a paralegal in a patent law firm for 10+ years before getting married, having children and becoming a mom. After volunteering in my daughter and son’s classrooms, I knew I didn’t want to go back to an office and spend my days sitting at a desk in front of a computer. My youngest child’s kindergarten teacher said she would be happy to schedule me as her substitute teacher. After my first few sub jobs, I was hooked.
I continued to substitute teach for a few years, while taking evening prerequisite classes so that I could enter the teacher certification program at Cal State San Marcos. Through my substitute teaching – where I taught in nearly every grade from Kindergarten to 12th grade – I eventually found the grade level I was meant for: 6th Grade. The teaching credential program that I attended was specifically geared toward middle school and our classroom was a portable building, which was situated on Woodland Park Middle School in the San Marcos Unified School District. Experiences like “shadow a middle school student” were a great way to walk in the shoes of a middle schooler. Middle school students can be kind, funny, quirky, and maybe a little awkward at times, but their hearts shine through their actions. I knew I found “my people” in the students I taught, as well as the fellow colleagues I learned from.
I know I made the right choice to become a middle school math teacher, because every year I receive at least one letter from a parent who wants me to know that up until my class, their student did not have a positive experience in a math class. My students have told me that they can see and feel the passion that I have for teaching math. Middle school is a critical point in a student’s education and it’s where I know I can make a difference. I work hard to make math accessible to all of my students. I am committed to meeting students where they are and helping them move toward grade-level math mastery. My teaching style has evolved over the past 13 years, but my focus on student learning remains unchanged. The tenets that I believe in most are posted in my room. They are “Speed is not Important”, “All students can learn math to a high level”, “Struggle and mistakes are important”, and “Believe in Yourself”.
For fun, my husband (Lance), two children (Stephanie and Benjamin), and I like to play word/board games – Boggle is one of our favorites! When my kids were young, we gave them the advantage of being able to make 3-letter words, but my husband and I had to make 4-letter words. Ten years later, my husband and I are the ones who need the 3-letter word advantage to win at Boggle. We also like to travel to national parks for hikes – we’ve been to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, to the top of Mount Whitney, and across the Haleakela volcano. Last winter, we took a family road trip to Zion National Park. The four of us started the 5-mile round trip hike out to the ridge known as Angels Landing. Stephanie and Benjamin, however, were the ones sure-footed enough to use the support chains and make it across the ridge (and back). Lance and I are proud parents and love that our kids still want to go on adventures with us.
When my own two children were young, I started thinking about what work I wanted to do once my children were past their early elementary school years. I had been working as a paralegal in a patent law firm for 10+ years before getting married, having children and becoming a mom. After volunteering in my daughter and son’s classrooms, I knew I didn’t want to go back to an office and spend my days sitting at a desk in front of a computer. My youngest child’s kindergarten teacher said she would be happy to schedule me as her substitute teacher. After my first few sub jobs, I was hooked.
I continued to substitute teach for a few years, while taking evening prerequisite classes so that I could enter the teacher certification program at Cal State San Marcos. Through my substitute teaching – where I taught in nearly every grade from Kindergarten to 12th grade – I eventually found the grade level I was meant for: 6th Grade. The teaching credential program that I attended was specifically geared toward middle school and our classroom was a portable building, which was situated on Woodland Park Middle School in the San Marcos Unified School District. Experiences like “shadow a middle school student” were a great way to walk in the shoes of a middle schooler. Middle school students can be kind, funny, quirky, and maybe a little awkward at times, but their hearts shine through their actions. I knew I found “my people” in the students I taught, as well as the fellow colleagues I learned from.
I know I made the right choice to become a middle school math teacher, because every year I receive at least one letter from a parent who wants me to know that up until my class, their student did not have a positive experience in a math class. My students have told me that they can see and feel the passion that I have for teaching math. Middle school is a critical point in a student’s education and it’s where I know I can make a difference. I work hard to make math accessible to all of my students. I am committed to meeting students where they are and helping them move toward grade-level math mastery. My teaching style has evolved over the past 13 years, but my focus on student learning remains unchanged. The tenets that I believe in most are posted in my room. They are “Speed is not Important”, “All students can learn math to a high level”, “Struggle and mistakes are important”, and “Believe in Yourself”.
For fun, my husband (Lance), two children (Stephanie and Benjamin), and I like to play word/board games – Boggle is one of our favorites! When my kids were young, we gave them the advantage of being able to make 3-letter words, but my husband and I had to make 4-letter words. Ten years later, my husband and I are the ones who need the 3-letter word advantage to win at Boggle. We also like to travel to national parks for hikes – we’ve been to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, to the top of Mount Whitney, and across the Haleakela volcano. Last winter, we took a family road trip to Zion National Park. The four of us started the 5-mile round trip hike out to the ridge known as Angels Landing. Stephanie and Benjamin, however, were the ones sure-footed enough to use the support chains and make it across the ridge (and back). Lance and I are proud parents and love that our kids still want to go on adventures with us.
Maria MillerTOY2024.mp4My family was separated when I was four; first by divorce, then by immigration. I am the youngest of seven children raised by a single mother. My older siblings immigrated to the United States before my mother made the journey from Cuernavaca, Mexico, with my brother, sister, and myself in 1981. I was raised in Santa Ana and entered elementary school as a kindergarten student, pulled out to learn English in the ESL program. I graduated high school and, following my siblings' example, applied to college and was accepted into three schools. I decided to attend San Diego State University. While I did not graduate on my first attempt, my learning did not stop there.As young parents, Robert and I worked to provide for our kids, Maya and Emiliano. I worked for Pacific Bell as a customer service operator and was promoted to trainer shortly after. I trained adults to be customer service agents in Spanish and worked for the company for 10 years before I realized my true calling was education. As a working mother, I enrolled in college again and earned a degree in Social Science. Years later, I earned my Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction, which was the same year my daughter graduated high school. My educational journey has not been a straight line; instead, it has shifted and adjusted as life has happened. I am proud of my journey and my experiences because I believe those experiences shaped my way of thinking. My journey has made me reflective, appreciative, and a lifelong learner, and has built my drive to reach for my goals.I share my experiences with my students to encourage them to push beyond the limits society might place on them. I share with them so they know that having goals, aspirations, and hope are as important as the air we breathe. The destination of our life is important, but the journey that we take to get there is what builds, shapes, and influences us. I share my story and my love of teaching to inspire young people that our starting place in life does not dictate our final destination. Our young people need our love and support to become the best version of themselves.
Runners-Up
Runners-Up
Mackenzie LevineTOY2024.mp4My name is Mackenzie Levine and I am a Mild/Moderate Education Specialist at Perry Elementary. I have been teaching for 11 years and was inspired to teach at an early age. When I was eight years old, we learned that my younger sister was born hard of hearing. From that very moment, I knew my calling in life was to teach, specifically with the Deaf or children with disabilities.After graduating from the University of Dayton with my degree as an Intervention Specialist, I joined the US Peace Corps in Kenya as a Deaf Educator in a small, remote village off the coast named Kakuyuni. Kenya became my home for two years and is where I truly learned the power of education, resilience, simplicity, community, and connection. I became fluent in Kenyan Sign Language (KSL) and taught Deaf children from the ages of 5 to 21. In addition to teaching academics, I started a Life Skills class focused on discussing real life issues that my students faced every day. These issues ranged from HIV/AIDS and Malaria to acceptance in their communities, and many other topics. Through this, I was inspired to start a weekly class for the hearing community to learn KSL and how to communicate with my Deaf students. My hope was to connect the hearing and Deaf communities and provide more opportunities for acceptance and inclusion. I took these life lessons home with me and strive to implement them in my classroom, my home, and in my own life every day.
I returned to San Diego, where I was born and raised, and joined the SDUSD family of educators at Perry Elementary as the 3rd-5th grade Education Specialist. I have been a Perry Fox for nine years where I obtained my Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction and have continued to grow in my passion for education, leadership, collaboration, community, and inclusion. I serve as our site’s CAASPP testing coordinator, ELAC Advisor, SSC member, lead our school’s mindfulness initiative, and collaborate with our incredible teachers and staff in fostering a culture of inclusion, education and acceptance of neurodiversity. My goal each day is to meet my students where they are, provide them with ample strategies and coping skills to self-regulate, and facilitate learning opportunities that best meet their individual needs. One of my favorite aspects of my job is the opportunity to work with students and their families over the course of several years, watching them grow into confident students making strides in their academic and social-emotional learning. If you were to walk into my classroom, you would see students engaging in learning centers, bouncing on exercise balls as they learn, fidgeting their hands and feet, utilizing manipulatives and tactile tools, and engaging with my classroom’s sensory table to support self-regulation. I am a firm believer in educating the whole child and creating a classroom culture of kindness, love, empathy, and compassion.Outside of the classroom, I love to swim, exercise, read, cook, and travel. My husband and I have two beautiful boys, ages five and three. Our boys are very active, energetic, and full of personality! We love nothing more than spending time with our family, friends, and our golden retriever, Tilly, in the California sunshine.
Kellie MarcarelliTOY2024.mp4My teaching journey began with an AVID (Advancement via Individual Determination) conference many years ago – where they were discussing the benefits of student-centric problem-solving strategies. Let me back it up a few more decades before the conference, where we meet young Kellie, a struggling student. Most of what I heard in school were comments like, “Run these papers to the office and do an extra lap before you come back” or “Can you please sit still.” Although I did go on to become a runner in college, all I really wanted at the time was to fit in and do my very best. I wanted to be great at school, I just didn’t know how to do that.Soon after college graduation, I was diagnosed with several aspects of neurodivergency which explained a lot of my childhood struggles. So, when I was sitting at that AVID conference listening to the presenter talk about inquiry and collaboration, it just ignited something deep inside of me. I had never been taught these strategies as a learner, and now these tools were working for me! As an adult who still struggles with making connections in my own learning, I began to practice these strategies in the classroom with students using interactive notebooks. In time, I was given the opportunity to lead teacher workshops. I presented at state and national science conferences, authored a book about implementing the use of notebooks in the classroom, served on curriculum adoption committees, was a staff developer for several grants, and was lucky enough to attend the National Staff Developers Conference (NSDC). All of which was made possible through the many amazing colleagues and meaningful connections I’ve made over the past 33 years.I thrive in an environment that is filled with working collaborations and partnerships – and never has team been stronger than at my current school, CPMA. It is a magical place for me. My administration is accepting and supportive. Together with my superhero science team, we get the pleasure of teaching science to a talented group of young artists and scholars.One of my passions is connecting with students and building school community through sports. Sport was one of the areas that got me through school. When SDUSD started a new afterschool sports program two years ago, I jumped at the chance to coach middle school track & field. Our school track team went from seven semi-interested students at the start of the season, to over 30 athletes competing in the finals. We went from students getting dropped-off and picked-up at meets, to over 60 family and friends in attendance to support our students. As a coach, I did everything possible to support my athletes. I orchestrated snacks, banners, T-shirts, and donations for whatever else the athletes needed, including track shoes. My student athletes were involved with breast cancer awareness month by making hundreds of pink ribbons to hand out at the track meets. Along the way, I have discovered that if you treat students like professionals, they will rise to the occasion. I have also found that in most communities, people want to get involved. If you can provide a useful and meaningful path for families to participate, they will. It brought me immense joy every time a new family attended the track meet on Saturday.I would like to think that I contribute to the character development of my students. I work hard to help each student build knowledge, integrity, and a sense of wonder about how the world works. I also believe that my ability to recognize my own gaps in processing as an educator helps me to connect and create a bond with my students. I am hyper transparent, and I put it on display. Modeling these traits not only helps me to become a better teacher but show students that they too can achieve with honest reflection. I strive to provide a consistent and welcoming environment for my students where they feel wanted, safe, appreciated, and heard. I believe that what drives me the most is the need to provide support to students. I meet students where they are in both their learning and human growth process and I provide what they need to be successful. I work every day to open my heart and lead with kindness…and my pockets are always filled with chocolates!
Skye Cooke-PinionTOY2024.mp4Teaching has been my joy and passion for nearly 25 years, and every day feels like a new adventure. From my early days teaching elementary school to my current role as an English and AVID teacher at San Diego High School, I've poured my heart into inspiring students to reach their fullest potential.
With both a multiple subject teaching credential and a single subject credential in English, along with a Master of Arts in curriculum design from UCSD, I've equipped myself to make a meaningful impact in the lives of my students. Over the years, I've seen the transformative power of education, and it's what keeps me going.
At San Diego High School, I not only teach English and AVID but also lead the Medical Terminology Academy. It's a role that fills me with immense joy as I work alongside school and community partners to create inclusive and enriching educational experiences for every student.
But what truly warms my heart are the relationships I've built with my students and the community. Watching them grow, learn, and succeed fills me with pride and happiness. Teaching isn't just a job for me—it's my life's purpose, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to make a difference every single day.
As a mother of four unique and incredibly talented children ranging from age 11-24, I understand the importance of making sure all students feel like they have the right to be celebrated for their potential and given every opportunity to succeed. I want all of my students to feel equally welcomed and confident at school, and I want my classroom to be a safe space for them to be themselves. In fact, it has also been a full-circle moment for me recently as my oldest daughter recently became a teacher herself, and I get to see the qualities I have spent my teaching career instilling in students become part of her classroom environment as well!