I was born in Fremont, California and grew up in Newark. My family was active at St. Edward Parish in Newark for as long as I can remember. I began attending St. Edward School at the beginning of my fourth grade year, then entered Moreau Catholic high school in Hayward after graduation. I spent my college years at U.C. Berkeley, and after earning a B.A. in History I entered the Society of the Precious Blood as a seminarian - four more years of Catholic education, this time at the Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley. I decided to leave religious community after a very rich experience and ultimately chose to pursue a teaching credential at Holy Names College in Oakland.

I have been teaching eighth grade at St. John the Baptist since the 1993-94 school year. At this point, I have spent well over thirty years either attending or teaching in Catholic schools. I believe that all education is extremely important, whether public or private, secular or religious. However, my history and my experience have led me to value Catholic education in particular. There are schools out there that focus successfully on strong academics and on making students life-long learners. Other schools may be more successful in building self-esteem and self-discipline, while still others may specialize in forming physically well-balanced students. Finally, there are those schools who help to form students of faith. Some schools may do two or three of those things well. St. John the Baptist, as a Catholic school, is dedicated to doing not one, not two, but all of those things and more, forming the whole student - intellectually, socially, spiritually, psychologically, physically. Whether conscious of it or not, this has ALWAYS been my experience of Catholic education, and I continue to support and believe in it.

I am beginning my tenth year as a teacher, and I thoroughly enjoy sharing my knowledge and passion for language arts with my students. Teaching at St. John's is a rewarding experience. Each class has a true sense of community. The students show daily what it means to be a Christian. I feel very blessed to be a part of the St. John's family.

"Wish they all could be California Girls" sang the Beach Boys. Well, wish no more, for I am one! I am a second generation Californian although I spent my childhood in north eastern New Jersey. I returned to California to attend Santa Clara University, my Dad's alma mater.

After majoring in French, I decided to get my Masters in Library Science but after watching the fun my roommates were having student teaching, I switched to the teaching credential program. I taught in the Alum Rock School District for 40 years in grades 1,2,4,5,6,7, and 8. Over the course of my first career, I taught every single academic subject plus a few electives.

I retired in 2007 with the intention of relaxing and traveling but soon realized that I missed interacting with kids every day! I decided to apply for a teaching position in the Diocese of San Jose and Mrs. Perkowski offered me the job here at St John's. Teaching at St John's offers me a chance to do what I love in a new way. The Catholic school setting allows me to explore important topics with my students with a slightly different perspective than public school does. If you ask what I enjoy most about SJBS, I can say unequivocally: the kids!!

I am the proud mother of four grown children, two girls and two boys. One of my daughters is also a middle school teacher and the other is the Associate Director of a residential care facility for elders. I love to read, travel and spend time with my grandson, Eli.