Tylen Einweck C.K. McClatchy’s new Theater teacher was born and raised in Sacramento. He went to McClatchy, and then attended The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA), where he majored in Musical Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Outside of school Mr. Einwick enjoys playing the piano and violin. One of his favorite hobbies is disc golf, it is fun, challenging and relaxing at the same time.
Mr. Einweck worked professionally for 4 years as an acting coach, director, and music director. Teaching actors the music songs and leading the orchestra group. In the public school setting this is his first year teaching theater full time.
What got Mr. Einweck interested in teaching theater was his junior year at McClatchy. “The teacher had been let go and the theater was kind of left up in the air. Mrs. Morrison,…was admitted, while it wasn’t her expertise, she would give us everything she could to help us succeed. So she let me take the reins of the after school theater productions. I chose the shows and directed and realized that I had a knack for leadership in theater arts”.
Storytelling and vulnerability are some of the skills someone can learn from taking a theater class. “A big focus of my class is releasing everyone’s inner storyteller via theatrical material. Vulnerability is something that is avoided by many, When we learn to express and be vulnerable we learn to communicate effectively and stay emotionally healthy”.
There are many students who are interested in theater but are shy or don’t feel very confident. Mr Einwick commented on this well known fact by saying, “Breathe. Some of the best performers I know are shy because they use theater to escape themselves. Within everyone, is an ability to shine”.
Katie Valenzuela has been a part of politics before she even knew it was politics. At thirteen, she served on a Bakersfield youth board to help her community solve issues like high rates of teen pregnancy. Her desire to help people continued, and as an environmental policy maker, Valenzuela worked to pass policy and create programs for the people’s benefit. Now as District 4’s (Land Park, Central City, and parts of Natomas) City Council representative, she says she “can’t imagine doing anything else.”
When Katie Valenzuela launched her City Council member campaign in April 2019, she knew she was going to have her work cut out for her. She was up against an incumbent, which is someone who already held the position, Steve Hansen. To turn the vote, she started a grassroots campaign completely run by volunteers and personally connected with voters by “asking questions to find out what folks were concerned about.”
Valenzuela decided to run when she realized that after eight years, Steve Hansen had lost touch with the community. She acknowledges that running was a huge risk, but “if you’re interested, you should run. If you see things going wrong and have different ideas about how to solve them, then that’s what you’re supposed to do.”
Hansen was supported by Mayor Steinberg and the rest of City Council, which was disappointing to Valenzuela, who had worked closely with the council for a while. Friends of hers worried that running might make people angry, and some even asked her if she’d still be employable if she lost. Valenzuela worked through the pressure and credits her clear vision for change for her win.
Once she enters office this December, Katie Valenzuela plans to focus on a long term solution for a problem that brings all three neighborhoods of district four together; homelessness. This issue was a big reason for why Valenzuela ran because she was frustrated that instead of solving the problem, the city seems to be making it worse. “[homelessness] is not a mysterious phenomenon. The fact that we aren’t doing what we need to be doing is incredibly frustrating.” She plans to make change within the city while working together with the county and the state to find common solutions.
Valenzuela plans to be strategic about homelessness and describes the situation as being two buckets; triage and long term solutions. Triage, or immediate services, would be designated campgrounds for the homeless, equipped with bathrooms, showers, and trash cans. Next, Valenzuela would try to find more accurate numbers on homeless populations so that the city has a general understanding of how many people need mental health services and provide safety for women and lgbtq+ youth.
Her next plan revolves around long term housing units. She argues that the current situation of 30 or 90 day solutions are expensive and ineffective, because people have nowhere to go after the program ends. In addition to the high, cyclical costs, “it also harms the homeless population to go through this destabilization”. Valenzuela recognizes that we really need to focus on homelessness now more than ever before because “people are in crisis after the shutdowns. This summer, we met with people outside of City Hall who were thirsty because they couldn’t refill their bottles. People are thirsty and it’s 2020.”
Valenzuela says that another big focus of hers is rent control. “We have a massive affordability crisis and we need to protect where people are in now.” With all the new buildings in Sacramento, rent has become unaffordable. “Some of these buildings, they’re just so expensive. $1600 a month is too much, that’s like a mortgage cost…which means people can’t save and buy a house anymore.” What’s even worse is that people can not afford to move out, leaving them stuck. “It costs 5 grand to move in Sacramento, and people can’t afford that, especially with Covid.” Valenzuela hopes to create a Rent Emergency fund to provide temporary relief, preventing people from becoming homeless.
In addition to these issues she’s outlined, Valenzuela has to deal with the huge amount of debt Sacramento has incurred. Something she is especially concerned about is the Golden One center, which was supposed to be paid through parking revenue, but hasn’t materialized with the current pandemic. Debts are also being accrued through the renovation of the Sacramento Convention Center which is typically used to host large events. Valenzuela says that even though she doesn’t necessarily like the decisions that led to these debts, “if the city is in, then I’m all in. Let’s find a way to be strategic and make this all work.”
Balancing the budget is going to be a fight for Valenzuela because the first things cut are always youth and community services. She’s worried about this happening next year and says that, “We need organizing. You might have heard about the People’s Budget?”. Valenzuela wants to put more money into communities by making sure that no youth is more than a mile from some type of a community center. This way they can have access to the internet or homework help. “We have to be thoughtful about investing in and filling gaps. We know that some youth are isolated and we can address this”.
Reevaluating the role of the police in communities is another big issue Valenzuela wants to work on. She plans on creating a new department to look at 911 calls and track emergencies in order for the city to develop new resources for responses. As a policy buff, she wants to look into certain rules that give police too much power. “Police shouldn’t respond to mental health crises, but they’re the only ones who are given 72 hour hold authority”. While this is a state law change, she believes that it is critical in solving these issues that police in neighborhoods create.
Valenzuela believes that we also have to be more strategic with police money. This year, the police were going to be given a $10 million raise. Valenzuela argues that instead, we should invest this money in community programs, health services, peacemakers, and counselors. If everything works out, then more money would be taken from the police and reinvested into these programs, creating a gradual, transitional shift.
Valenzuela says the most important thing to remember is that, “safety means that you shouldn’t have to call 911. It doesn’t mean having the police on every corner. The best thing to do is to stop someone from shooting instead of responding to it.” Valenzuela is also a part of a group of women electives who have pledged not to take money from law enforcement and developers. She hopes that this will instill hope in her constituents because it’s important for people to feel invested in community issues.
The community is ready for change and City Council Member Katie Valenzuela is ready to bring that change. During her campaign, hundreds of people called in and sent letters to City Hall in her favor. The Mayor and the rest of the council tried to brush her off, calling her a “radical leftist” and saying that this is just a small fraction of constituents, but Valenzuela held firm, asking “at what point do we have to reach to show that this isn’t radical, this is what the community wants?” Councilmember Valenzuela starts her first term in December, and can’t wait to show Sacramento that “something better is possible”.
If there’s anything you should know about Sue Richards, it’s that she absolutely loves sustainability. She recycled before it was fashionable and has always bought her books second-hand. She believes that books were made to be reusable, so of course it made sense for her to frequent a little shop tucked away on Freeport Boulevard, Crawford’s Books. Little did she know that one day she would own and operate that very store.
Established in 1983 by Jim and Joyce Crawford, Crawford’s books has withstood the test of time, location changes, and a global pandemic. Crawford’s is different from most bookstores because of their buy-sell-trade policy. At the store, you can sell back books for 20-25% of the cover price. This money is transferred into store credit redeemable on everything except clearance titles.
Sue Richards had always wanted to run a bookstore, and after visiting the store one day in late 2017, she offered to run the place if the Crawfords ever decided to quit. Unbeknownst to her, that very morning, the elderly couple had talked about retiring. Two months later, in January 2018, she owned the shop. As a business owner, Richards’ main priority is to give people the opportunity to read. She says that “book selling isn’t a money making venture but [she] really loves books and wants to keep book distribution at an affordable price.”
After taking over, Richards reorganized the bookstore’s 40,000+ books (including a $300 graffiti book and a $100 book explaining why humans are part dolphin) into 15 major sections (although there are dozens of subsections) including cooking, fiction, romance, classics, and international literature. Her entire back wall is filled with non-fiction titles that are perfect for history term papers, and she makes sure to keep a shelf of books specifically read in the HISP program. She also tripled the kids section of the store as she hopes to encourage young readers to engage with books early on.
After being hit by pandemic shutdowns this spring, Crawford’s was closed for three months. In June, Sue started to introduce curbside pickups with remote payments and her extremely popular mystery bundles. These are hand-selected packages of 5-10 books based on a reader’s favorite authors that are offered at a reduced price. She says that she will continue to offer these services as long as people still want them.
Sue says that she feels fortunate to operate a bookstore during the pandemic because her business has increased. She says, “right now, everyone wants to read a book and escape. People are bored and they have a lot of time on their hands.” She also attributes some of this success to the increased rejection of big companies like Amazon. Sue has noticed that the pandemic has created a big shift in where people choose to buy from. Now, customers are actively seeking her out whereas before, people didn’t necessarily think to support local business.
Although some small businesses like Crawford’s have survived the pandemic, Richards pointed out that proposition 15 has the potential to wipe out a lot of these shops. Prop 15 would make commercial businesses pay property tax based on their market value instead of purchase price, with the revenue going to public services like schools. Sue says she “can see both sides. On the surface this seems great, but if commercial property owners need to pay more, it will trickle down”. When property taxes are raised, landlords increase rents, which force business owners to increase prices.
This ends up hurting people on the lower side of the socioeconomic scale and Sue argues that this could effectively make or break a small business. She’s seen this happen firsthand when her friend’s Elk Grove used bookstore had to close because of rent increase. Sue fears that this will ultimately harm smaller businesses and leave big businesses unscathed.
With winter holidays coming up, a lot of us are scrambling to find thoughtful, affordable gifts. Sue believes that books are the perfect gift because “they share feeling and experience with the ones you love. It’s a wonderful way to give someone hours of entertainment for cheap too!”, and she has always given books as gifts. Crawford’s has been stocking up for the holidays with copies of Dune, local author’s work, STEM books, feminist theory, and a whole collection of sci-fi fantasy written by Black women including famed Octavia Butler. In addition to books, Sue sells local art and jewelry in her store, making Crawford’s Books a great place to support local artists, authors, and small businesses.
If you need suggestions for gifts or pleasure reading, just ask Sue! Her favorite book genre is historical fiction, because she “feel[s] transported to different times and places”. Her all-time favorite books include Marcus Zusak’s Bridge of Clay and Aaron Morgenstern’s The Starless Sea, but she firmly believes that everyone should read classics like All Quiet on the Western Front, A Man Called Ove, The Boys in the Boat and The Life of Pi. If you have anything you’d love for Crawford’s Books to stock up on, let Sue know! She’s always open to suggestions.
Mr. Luis Guerrero is a math teacher at Mcclatchy high school entering into his 2nd year as a math teacher. Mr.Guerrero is a Sacramento native born in south Sacramento. He was a former basketball coach for the Freshman basketball team at McClatchy, and DJ at previous homecomings.
Mr.Guerrero is an alumni of the class of ‘09 at McClatchy. He then enrolled in Sacramento State, where he received his Bachelor’s degree in Engineering as well as his teachers credential.
Transitioning careers from an engineer to a math teacher was not an easy choice to make. Mr. Guerrero was working as an audio engineer, before deciding to enter the educational field as a math teacher. Guerrero stated, ‘’[I]… recognized that I needed to be in the classroom because representation matters. It is hard to imagine what you don’t see. I decided to do what I felt right.”
His approach to teaching is quite unique and unlike the average classroom environment, ‘’One strategy I use in a math classroom is playing music in the background during warm-ups, independent practice and group activities. There are many university studies that highlight the impact of background music and academic achievement’’.
Like many teachers, there have been a lot of new hurdles to tackle with distance learning– new in and out’s that everyone has to get used to. Mr. Guerrero commented on this, saying that, “The pandemic has impacted everything about teaching and learning. I don’t like that we are doing distance learning, but I am doing everything in my power to make it the best that I can. One thing that I really like about working online is that I am able to communicate with all students outside of the classroom.’’
But he doesn’t spend all day in the classroom. By night he is a DJ as well as an audio engineer. Mr.Guerrero got his start with music and sound by working at his cousin’s sound company at 13. There he witnessed what being a DJ was like, and immediately was inspired, “I was instantly hooked on how the DJ;s would mix and manipulate the music… I was given a pair of turntables and records from a family friend and that’s when it all started. .”
Guerrero exercises his DJ skills working as an audio engineer for the Sacramento Kings as well as being the DJ every Saturday night on Fuego 103.5 FM here in Sacramento.
When asked about his plans for his career as a teacher in the future Mr.Guerrero said “I am currently a masters student in the College of Education at Sacramento State. I plan on teaching until I enter a Phd program in education. Ultimately, I want to become a professor in teacher preparation at the university level.”
This year C.K. McClatchy hired new assistant principal (AP) Mr. Zarate. Mr. Zarate was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. There he went to George Washington High School, and competed on their soccer team.
After high school Zarate decided to come to Sacramento, and started attending Cosumnes River College. From there he transferred to Sacramento State with a soccer scholarship and an intended major of criminal justice. Zarate said that he liked college and that it was a very new experience for him, “My favorite part was the diversity and the different people. Coming to college stretched me mentally… (it was) great to meet people from different backgrounds, a whole nother experience for me and helped me grow as a person.”
At the time he wanted to be a probation officer, and ended up working at the Sacramento county probation department and juvenile hall. He worked there for three and a half years before deciding that he wanted a change.
Zarate then attended National University, a private university in San Diego. There Zarate earned a Masters in educational counseling, and a PPS credential (Pupil Personnel Services credential) in educational counseling.
Zarate first got his start in SCUSD through the credential program that was required to complete his PPS, “In the credential program there is a need to finish internship hours. I got an internship at Sam Brennen [elementary] school, and I actually took a risk and left my job and went to work at Sam Brennen as a per diem. I did that counseling job for six months and at the end of the six months I ended up securing a job working with at-risk youth.”
After working at Sam Brennen, Assistant Principal Zarate got the job offer to work at California middle school as Vice Principal. After six years at Cal middle, along with the opening at McClatchy, Zarate adds that the move from VP at Cal middle to AP at McClatchy was only natural, “Next thing you know there’s an opening and so it was kind of natural…a change of scenery and new challenges, an opportunity to learn…”
Assistant Principal Zarate is ready to get hands on with the school. He adds that he is actually going to school every day, getting to know the campus and the staff members.
When asked what he was most looking forward to when school reopens, he said, “I’m looking forward to learning what makes CKM so special… I want to dedicate myself to keep it the best school and improve CKM. Not to mention all the great sports at McClatchy, I’m a sports fanatic and I love school spirit. I want to experience the ROAR.”
Outside of school Zarate likes to lay low, and spend time with his family: “My enjoyment is my two kids and my wife. I kind of like just to hang out. I don’t like to be too busy. TV mainly consists of sports so Sundays are a good day for me especially when my Broncos are winning.
C.K. McClatchy students elected a new ASB (Associated Student Body) Board in October, featuring Secretary Ella Christiansen (21’).
The role of the secretary is to take notes on meetings, organize documents, keep records, and more specifically; “… [be] organized when it comes to clubs or outreach to other subset organizations within the schools, [and] making sure there is open communication between admin and students,” says Christiansen.
What motivated and inspired Christiansen to run was an experience that left the new secretary upset with the past board’s stance, more specifically saying, “Last year I had some pretty negative experience with the board and trying to ring in WEAVE and other organizations and the board stuck with the administration’s argument…[the] asb board and I largely had a really positive experience.”
When asked why they were well equipped and ready for the new position, they said, “I think seeing the lack of communication has definitely prepared me with a set of goals to fix it, being able to have a conversation with the admin taught me how to push the admins button in a way to get attention without being disrespectful.”
This is not Christansen’s first time in a leadership position. For the school year of 2019-2020 Christainsen was the Secretary for the Class of 21’. As well as holding a leadership position in McClatchy’s Feminist Coalition as Vice President last year, and this year having the position President of the Feminist Coalition
Though it has only been a few weeks since elections, Secretary Christansen has already come up with new ways for asb to reach out to the community, and establish their presence. “I really look forward to redefining what it means to support the community and mobilizing the resources that asb does have for supporting non profits that uplift people in need and Sacramento’s community.”
While others may be weary and nervous of the new interface of online learning, Christiansen is looking forward to the change of in person to tech. “Using tech to our advantage, to get input from students who don’t have the time to do asb but are still passionate about preserving the right of the student body.” Christansen also added that, “…This transition should have happened earlier.” in reference to the election being completely online.
Although we are in socially distant times, ASB has been planning some things to look forward to in the future, including “…a toy and clothing drive, creating care packages with CKM masks for students, and planning a COVID safe graduation, whether that be a drive through or virtual. We are also working on class fundraising.”
Mrs. Andrea Egan is C.K. McClatchy’s new principal. She joined the CKM Lions this summer from California Middle School, CKM’s neighbor. Principal Egan grew up in Livermore, California, located in the bay area and attended Granada High School. During her high school career, she was a swimmer, the ASB Activities Director, and a member of the California Scholarship Federation.
After graduating, she enrolled in Sacramento State University, “Stingers up!… I entered Sac State under the major of art, and I changed my major right away to graphic design. I thought that that would be a more marketable job opportunity for me, and still be art related,” Egan said.
She finished her degree at Sacramento State in ‘99, with a Bachelor’s in graphic design and a minor in English literature. She concluded her time at Sacramento State in ‘02 after earning a multiple subject teaching credential, secondary credential in Art and English, and a Masters degree in Curriculum Instruction and Art Emphasis.
Her career at Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) began in the year ‘00,“I interviewed at Sutter, and the principal at the time, Greg Purcell, who’s kind of a famous principal in our district… had hired me and I taught English and Art initially. I also taught the journalism class there, and …leadership at Sutter.”
She left Sutter in ‘09 to fulfill the principal position at Phoebe Hearst Elementary. After five years she was asked by the superintendent at the time, Jonathan Raymond, to be the interim principal at California Middle School. In the spring of ‘15, Egan was named the permanent principal at California Middle School.
When asked what she would miss most from California Middle school, Egan replied, “I think the students of course, I’m hoping I’ll get to see some of them at McClatchy, so that’s kind of a silver lining of coming from Cal to McClatchy it’s the same neighborhood. And the staff… I got to know them really well, and the community we built.”
Assuming a principal’s role at Sacramento’s largest high school presents a myriad of challenges for any administrator, but Egan commented that she is ready to take on the task, “I’ve never really shyed away from a challenge, I’ve lived in Sac since ‘95, and I’ve always been intrigued by the beautiful campus. Then working next door at Cal I would hear a lot about students’ experiences at CKM… I think I’m up for the task. I want to make CKM the best school in the district for students.”
Egan is looking forward to instituting important communication and outreach programs for McClatchy families. She hopes to be a resource for students and help guide the community through the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic. She also hinted at some renovations taking place on campus: walls are being repainted, landscaping is being done, and slowly but surely McClatchy is receiving a well deserved face lift.
As school’s across America are being forced to finally confront the racial inequalities that have been cemented in the education system, it is a tense time to be any school administrator. Paired with the lingering effects of the racist science fair project that received national attention three years ago; the McClatchy community must constantly grapple with racial inequities and work towards increased safety for marginalized communities on campus.
When asked about long term plans, Egan most definitely envisions to work on race relations at McClatchy , “… how those programs [HISP, LPPA etc.] support or compound those issues, [and] what voice do students have on particular issues…It’s gonna be a challenge, but I think once all the clubs get organized… I would definitely like to be a part of BSU, Brown Issues, Pacific Islander club, and being a presence in meetings if they welcome me. Once I have a better understanding of what all those concerns are, we’ll go from there on what improvements can be made,” she said.
It is difficult for most students to get to know their teachers and new administration via distance learning. Principal Egan wants students to know that she is open to emails and any questions people may have adding that, “…I want students to know I’m here for them and that if they want to let me know something or have a question they can email me directly, and when we are back in person they can right up to me. We may not always agree, but I am very open to student feedback and resolve the issues they have. I want to be accessible to students.”
At the beginning of the school year, McClatchy’s staff was missing some familiar faces but was filled with new ones as well. One of those included Ms. Calvert, CKM’s new drama teacher.
Ms. Calvert grew up in southern California and has been in the entertainment industry since she was a young age. “My parents put me in dance lessons when I was really young, so I’ve been performing for a long time and I’m really comfortable doing it,” says Calvert on the topic. She graduated from Cal State Long Beach, where she created a still expanding theater company with college friends called the Garage Theatre.
After moving to Sacramento 15 years ago, Ms. Calvert began teaching, first at Sac High and then at Hiram Johnson. “I just found that I like teaching drama more than I like doing drama.” With passion for English as well, she found a true love for educating. She is currently working toward getting her masters in education, specifically in language and literacy, at Sac State.
During her 11 years at Johnson, Calvert worked to create a drama program, but because the process was quite difficult, she began to look for other positions. Mrs. Morrison, head of CKM’s Vapa Department, was able to help get her a job here at McClatchy. “I give her a lot of credit for making sure that I ended up here to do this work, and I’m super grateful,” says Calvert. She now teaches drama, AP Literature, and Freshman English.
Calvert holds a unique teaching philosophy: she does not believe that points have much to do with learning. “I have a labor-based grading policy in my class, which means I base your grade on the amount of work you put in.” Her approach focuses on what she calls “learning authentically”. She ultimately gives her students the option on how they want to be graded, realizing that “schools program kids in a certain way.”
Her goal for McClatchy’s drama program is to “take our high school production model and make it look closer to how a professional model might look.” Calvert is in awe of the amount of resources she now has, but is looking to improve scheduling and efficiency. Upcoming productions include, but are not limited to, the Haunted Theatre and Diary ofAnne Frank.
Ms. Calvert expressed her enthusiasm and said, “I do know that with the passion and talent we have from all the kids, it’s going to be awesome.”
Ms. Coleman teaching her biology class. Photo credit: Adriana Barrios.
Ms. Coleman, who has been one of C.K.M.’s most hardworking and exceptional science teachers for almost twenty years, has decided to retire at the end of this year, wrapping up thirty total years working in the Sacramento City Unified School District.
Ms. Coleman taught at Cal Middle School for six years before transferring to Kennedy High School, which she “couldn’t wait to leave,” until she finally landed at C.K.M. in 2000, where she has happily taught biology since.
Having always taught science, Ms. Coleman has stood out as an exceptional molecular biology teacher, fully prepared to take on the instruction of McClatchy’s freshmen. “I love ninth graders!” she says. “They’re so fun, open to anything, enthusiastic.”
Ms. Coleman describes one of the best moments in her teaching career in one student she had who, three months into the school year, had “not said a thing, not turned in anything.”
“I was very frustrated,” explains Ms. Coleman, “because he was essentially failing and getting D’s, and I was feeling like he wasn’t learning anything.” She went on to describe that one day, during a discussion on the current topic they were studying, the student had suddenly put up his hand, and said “‘You guys are all wrong, here’s what it is.’”
“And he was absolutely right! That’s like the best thing that had ever happened,” exclaimed Ms. Coleman. “Afterward he started participating, it’s quite possible he felt like he wasn’t on the same level as the other kids, and then when he realized actually he was, it made him feel more confident. Those kinds of moments,” she said. “I live for those, they don’t happen all the time.”
While she’s sad to leave behind her students come retirement, Ms. Coleman hopes to stay involved with the C.K.M. community by substituting when she can. “I’m going to miss the kids a lot,” she said. “But I hope to come back and sub for those who I know are going to leave me a lesson and have good control over their classes.”
The students are not the only thing that Ms. Coleman is going to miss. “I really am going to miss working with the science department, and not just the science department,” she said. “The people that have been at McClatchy for most of my career, definitely my science colleagues, all the people I have worked with the whole time, all the people who are so involved are so special to me.”
When asked to reflect on her favorite parts of McClatchy, Ms. Coleman finds that what she loves most about her home school is the diversity, “McClatchy is so diverse, and that diversity is celebrated,” she remarked. “The fact that that diversity is universally seen as a strength by the adults and the kids, makes it a place you want to be.”
Ms. Coleman also commented on McClatchy’s open and welcoming sense of community that she observes everyday in the student body. “When you walk around McClatchy, you see kids together and hanging out and eating lunch together. When I was at Kennedy, it wasn’t like that.”
“And the staff has always been very collegial,” continues Ms. Coleman. “It is always ‘what’s best for kids?’ and people are always willing to make a sacrifice if it’s about kids.” She adds that this was not her sentiments at Kennedy. “The conversations here always seem to center around what’s best for our students, and that’s what it should be and that’s what feels most natural to me and so I just love it, I love the tradition.”
There are two things Ms. Coleman is most looking forward to enjoying in retirement. One is having more time to spend with her grandkids in the Bay Area and being able to be more a part of their lives, and “go to school on Grand-Parent’s Day.” Vacationing in the Galapagos is not entirely out of the question for her, as she does want to travel a little bit more, but she says, “Most immediately it is about family; I will be able to provide more support that was hard to do when I’m working, and I’m looking forward to being more available.”
The second thing Coleman looks forward to is an end to all grading. While Ms. Coleman’s heart will always be in planning lessons, the interactions with kids, working with her colleagues, she is looking forward to spending the 15-20 hours a week usually dedicated to grading and devoting it instead to time with friends and raising the garden she’s always wanted. “I love teaching, I’m absolutely done with grading,” she says. “It is the soul-crushing part of teaching. That being gone is going to be huge.”
Most of all, Ms. Coleman will simply miss being a part of the school she has always loved and appreciated, “I get up every morning looking forward to my job, I love what I do, not everyone can say that. I’m going to miss that.”
“Thank you to colleagues who have made it a pleasure to work here, thank you to the kids, the spark at C.K.M.,” says Ms. Coleman with a smile. “I’ve been very lucky to have kids who make me smile, and don’t make me want to tear out my hair too much. I’m going to miss C.K.M.”
McClatchy counselor Ms. Cuningham working in her office. Photo credit: Adriana Barrios.
McClatchy counselor Andrea Cunningham working in her office. Photo credit: Adriana Barrios.
Counselors. We see them for schedules, teachers, or just because. Andrea Cunningham is a counselor at McClatchy and she is one of the best.
Cunningham grew up in Stockton and went to Edison High School. Her hobbies include reading, hiking, swimming, and watching sci-fi movies and television shows.
Before she knew she wanted be a counselor, Cunningham went to Delta College in Stockton and then transferred to San Francisco State, where she received her bachelor degree in psychology.
“From there I worked at a law firm in San Francisco and studied a Masters of Forensic Science.”, she said.
She worked at the law firm in San Francisco until she had an unexpected welcomed surprise: a daughter.
“Having Kira caused me to re-think my future and I switched Masters programs to Educational Counseling,” said Cunningham. “I am very happy that life moved me into counseling.”
Ms. Cunningham has influenced the life of many McClatchy students during her three years of working here.
“Success in high school depends primarily on staying checked in and believing you deserve a powerful life. I truly believe education in power that lasts,” said Cunningham. “Advocate for yourselves, stay focused in your classes and ask questions.”
