Among the new crew, Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District welcomed Priya Patel and Ana Valle. For the moment, the pair are sticking to the traditional math curriculum and expect to serve up as much respect and hard work as they anticipate receiving from their students.
“The kids here are so respectful and responsible,” says Valle with a smile. It is a sentiment shared by Patel, who explains that in her experience students will mirror for their teachers the same respect that they receive. So far, local students have earned these new teachers’ respect.
Patel comes to teaching from the world of civil engineering, a field she worked in for seven years. “I had a great time,” says Patel. What she got tired of was her friends saying how they aren’t good at math and how they let that belief limit their lives, she says. She is all about expanding horizons, not limiting them.
“People don’t understand how cool the engineering projects you get to work on can be, or how great the places you get to see are,” says Patel. Patel worked on waste water systems for campgrounds.
“Yes, you do have your cubicle life, too,” she says. “But I liked the people I worked with.” Patel hopes to turn students on – not only to the subject of math – but to the possibility of studying engineering later on. An enthusiastic 49ers fan, Patel previously taught at a junior high school in Santa Barbara. For Santa Ynez, she teaches Algebra 2, Geometry and AVID 1. “I love relating math to the real world,” she says. “I do that as much as I can in my classes.”
Neither teacher has yet been asked to design a 21st century skills project for their students, but both are game. There is only one cart of iPads, Valle points out. They will need a little more access to the technology before they can develop projects to be conducted with it. “But we are still relating our topics to the real world,” says Valle. “We don’t look at math as just X and Y.”
So far, Patel has found both the Santa Ynez community and the Valley to be very welcoming. But, she says with a laugh, “teaching is just as exhausting as I anticipated.” Staying late on most afternoons to prepare, Patel hopes to send the message to students that she is there to help if they need her.
“Priya has been working a little harder than she should,” says Valle, who hopes to carpool with her soon. For the moment, she is commuting in from Santa Barbara every morning with Ashley Coelho, who is also a member of the math department at the high school. “We have great conversations about math,” Valle says, who appreciates the abundance of good advice she is receiving.
Both teachers have noticed the unusual makeup of the high school. One of the first things that came to Patel’s attention is the number of Santa Ynez faculty who are also alumni. “That’s a good thing,” Patel says. Students may graduate from high school and leave the Valley, but like a boomerang people seem to come back. And she sees why.
Both the teachers are pleased to be a part of the Santa Ynez team. Valle teaches Geometry, Algebra 1B and Honors Algebra 2. “I’m loving it. I’m really, really liking it,” says Valle.
While good teacher support and the conscientious efforts of the students make for a good learning environment, the new teachers acknowledge the role of parents in the education process. Like Patel, Valle hopes to encourage parent participation. “The No. 1 thing they should do is check the parent portal,” she says.
From there, parents can check students’ grades and that their homework is being turned in on time. If they encounter a problem, parents shouldn’t hesitate to email their student’s teacher. Valle has set it up so that emails come directly to her cell phone, so she can both receive and respond in a timely fashion.
As the lunch bell rings, a water polo player enters Valle’s classroom. As he turns in his homework, he explains that he will miss class for his game. Valle is all business as she ensures the young man knows where to find his homework and help if he needs it. As the player leaves the classroom, she neatly places his work on the corner of her desk, patting it ever so slightly with a look of pleased satisfaction.
The athlete has just demonstrated exactly the point Valle making – that students at Santa Ynez care about their education, about following procedures and about their teachers. She hopes to build that respect into enthusiasm for her subject, but she knows that won’t happen if students feel confused or discouraged, which is why, like on this day, students are always free to come in during their lunch hour to see her.
Valle knows that her class is an important step on the road toward college. She was a mathematics major at CSU Bakersfield. “I loved it. I was passionate about the subject throughout college,” she says. She attended elementary school in Los Angeles, then moved to Mexico with her family for middle and high school.
When they chose Bakersfield for college, it was a family decision. They all moved together. “I love to spend time with my family,” she says. “If I could be there every weekend, I would.” Her two older brothers still live in Bakersfield and her parents intermittently.
In her free time, Valle loves to cook. “I’m not big on music,” she admits, but the red beef tamales she recently made for the faculty had the other teachers singing her praises. She laughs. She also enjoys long walks, something Patel appreciates as well – taking her dog “Niner” with her when she goes.
With the first few weeks behind them, Patel and Valle say it’s all adding up to a good experience for them – and their students. struax@syvjournal.com