On the right is a video (created 2014) to introduce myself and my Teaching Philosophy
I taught 3rd Grade for one year and middle school since the 2011-2012 school year. I have taught 8th Grade Math since 2014 and 7th Grade Math since 2018.
I have degrees in Science Business and Education and studied at UC. Berkeley, San Francisco State and Cal State East Bay.
Prior to becoming a teacher I spent the first 18 years of my career in information technology and left this field to act as primary caregiver to my newborn son. The time I spent caring for my son has truly been a life changing experience. Up until then, I’d spent the majority of my time and energy climbing the corporate ladder to build a successful software development career. The time with my son, and the perspective it afforded me, convinced me that I must go down a new path. While the idea of becoming a teacher had always lurked in the back of my mind, the real commitment to make teaching my second career came when my son entered school.
I have been married over 35 years to my wife, Julie and my son, Carlo finished school and is now figuring out his future with his girlfriend. My hobbies are art, construction and martial arts I am the president of Multi-Choices, a youth program geared to help at-risk kids.
I grew up in a migrant, low-income community and was selected for retention in the 1st grade. By the 3rd grade I was working. In high school I was “tracked” into wood shop and auto shop classes, was told by teachers and counselors I would never go to college and watched family members die from gang violence or drugs.
When I was 17 years old I severely injured my neck and doctors told me I might be in a wheelchair by the time I was 30. I had practiced martial arts, wrestling and boxing and intensified my workouts to include physical therapy.
After high school I became the first family member to receive a college degree (I am also very proud that my mother received her degree several years after I graduated). College was difficult for me because I did not like middle or high school. I took a math test in college and found out I had never really learned arithmetic so I had to retake all the classes I should have learned in middle and high school. While taking different classes and beginning to focus on my studies I gradually began to enjoy them and found out I was actually good at math.