About Me
I have been teaching now for sixteen years. I earned my Bachelor of Science Degree with High Honors in Organizational Leadership from Biola University in La Mirada, California in 2002. Not long after that, I secured my first teaching position for the Orange County Department of Education in Orange, California, teaching English Language Arts and Social Studies at Otto A. Fischer School, which is located entirely within the confines of Orange County Juvenile Hall. There I was placed working with one of the most challenging groups of young people in the Hall, which were young people who had either been convicted, or were awaiting trial for sexually-related offenses. I went on to earn my Masters in Education- Cross-Cultural Teaching from National University in La Jolla, California in 2006. During this time I also served as a Fellow and Curriculum Writer for the Character-Based Literacy program, or CBL, a program based out of the Markula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, in Santa Clara, California. During my fellowship, I was also a featured presenter at CBL Ethics Camp for two years, speaking about integrating technology into CBL curriculum, alongside such renowned authors as Gary Soto and Francisco Jimenez. I also wrote month-long curriculum units for two middle school novels, Wringer by Jerry Spinelli and Lupita Manana by Patricia Beatty, which are still in use by the program today.
In 2010 I moved back from California to my hometown of El Paso, Texas, and after taking two years off to deal with my mother's estate and some health issues of my own, I got back into the classroom in 2013, where I taught in Clint ISD at Mountain View High School for three years, teaching Speech and Theatre Arts. I had also directed the UIL One-Act Play there for the last two years, where the school managed to advance past the district level for the very first time in school history. After the 2015-2016 school year, it was becoming clear to me that the long commute from west El Paso all the way out to Mountain View was taking its toll, so I made the decision to move on into a position where the commute is more convenient. That decision has brought me to Da Vinci, where I am taking on the challenge of teaching not only Social Studies, but both Middle and High School Theatre Arts, with the goal of building a top-tier Theatre program here. In 2017, Da Vinci competed in UIL One-Act Play for the very first time, and did extremely well, being selected as Alternate production, which was in fourth place behind the top three who advanced, those being Permian Basin schools with established programs and budgets. We also followed that up with another Alternate placing in our 2nd year. In our third year we came in 2nd place in District 6-2A competition with our production of Louder, I Can't Hear You by Bill Gleason, advancing to the Bi-District round for the very first time. Last year, we once again placed as Alternate production, with our production of Radium Girls right before the COVID-19 shutdown. After the graduations of many contest veterans at the end of last year, 2020 brought about district re-alignment in UIL, which will pitted Da Vinci in District 7-2A against perennial State Qualifier and State Champion in 2A Christoval High School. Our production of Ladies in Waiting did win several acting awards, but in the end Christoval went on to yet again win the State Championship in 2A .Our goal is that we will continue to build on competition successes, while enjoying the beginning of auditorium renovations that will turn our auditorium into a top-caliber performance space for all of the Fine Arts Department
On a personal note, I currently live in west El Paso with my beautiful bride of almost 7 years, Rhonda, as well as three dogs, and three cats. My stepson Clayton is in the United States Navy attached to the U.S.S Spruance (DDG-111) as a Boatswain's Mate 2, whose home port is in San Diego, California. Rhonda and I are very excited about being a doting grandparents to our 5 grandchildren in Midland and San Angelo, Texas, and are very proud of Clayton, as he serves in the greatest Navy the world has ever known. Go Navy!
In 2010 I moved back from California to my hometown of El Paso, Texas, and after taking two years off to deal with my mother's estate and some health issues of my own, I got back into the classroom in 2013, where I taught in Clint ISD at Mountain View High School for three years, teaching Speech and Theatre Arts. I had also directed the UIL One-Act Play there for the last two years, where the school managed to advance past the district level for the very first time in school history. After the 2015-2016 school year, it was becoming clear to me that the long commute from west El Paso all the way out to Mountain View was taking its toll, so I made the decision to move on into a position where the commute is more convenient. That decision has brought me to Da Vinci, where I am taking on the challenge of teaching not only Social Studies, but both Middle and High School Theatre Arts, with the goal of building a top-tier Theatre program here. In 2017, Da Vinci competed in UIL One-Act Play for the very first time, and did extremely well, being selected as Alternate production, which was in fourth place behind the top three who advanced, those being Permian Basin schools with established programs and budgets. We also followed that up with another Alternate placing in our 2nd year. In our third year we came in 2nd place in District 6-2A competition with our production of Louder, I Can't Hear You by Bill Gleason, advancing to the Bi-District round for the very first time. Last year, we once again placed as Alternate production, with our production of Radium Girls right before the COVID-19 shutdown. After the graduations of many contest veterans at the end of last year, 2020 brought about district re-alignment in UIL, which will pitted Da Vinci in District 7-2A against perennial State Qualifier and State Champion in 2A Christoval High School. Our production of Ladies in Waiting did win several acting awards, but in the end Christoval went on to yet again win the State Championship in 2A .Our goal is that we will continue to build on competition successes, while enjoying the beginning of auditorium renovations that will turn our auditorium into a top-caliber performance space for all of the Fine Arts Department
On a personal note, I currently live in west El Paso with my beautiful bride of almost 7 years, Rhonda, as well as three dogs, and three cats. My stepson Clayton is in the United States Navy attached to the U.S.S Spruance (DDG-111) as a Boatswain's Mate 2, whose home port is in San Diego, California. Rhonda and I are very excited about being a doting grandparents to our 5 grandchildren in Midland and San Angelo, Texas, and are very proud of Clayton, as he serves in the greatest Navy the world has ever known. Go Navy!