A mixture of brand-new and experienced teachers will greet 9th
and 10th grade students when Sobrato opens its doors Aug. 24.
Principal Rich Knapp and Assistant Principal Thomasine Stewart said
they are pleased with the staff they have put together.
A mixture of brand-new and experienced teachers will greet 9th and 10th grade students when Sobrato opens its doors Aug. 24. Principal Rich Knapp and Assistant Principal Thomasine Stewart said they are pleased with the staff they have put together.
There are 29 teachers for approximately 700 students: Six English teachers, four in the math department, four will teach various science classes, two special ed teachers, one librarian, four in the social studies department, three in art electives, including music, and three in physical education, plus one athletic director/IT teacher.
Knapp said Wednesday that due to a recent decision by School Board trustees to grant 29 transfers from Live Oak High to Sobrato and vice versa, schedules had to be shifted, and one more science teacher is needed.
“If the person accepts the position in science that was offered today, then we’ll be fully staffed,” he said. “The changes have been made, we had some shifts in sections, some internal adjustments. But every kid we have right now is scheduled, and there are no holes in the schedule. As of yesterday, we had 702 kids registered, just under 400 9th graders and just over 300 10th graders.”
Much of Knapp’s staff come to Sobrato from within the district. Assistant principal Stewart came from Live Oak where she chaired the math department. Counselor Adrienne Medalie was at Martin Murphy.
The clerical staff is full of familiar faces and names, including Knapp’s former secretary Karen Leff. Twenty-four staffers from Martin Murphy Middle, Britton Middle and Live Oak High will provide a sense of familiarity for Sobrato students: Terry Bernard, Mary DeBenedetti, Christine Filios, Jane Flanigan, Vera Gomes, Mary Jane Grover, Matthew Lagunas, Steve Lentz, Mark Masoni, Irma Mendez, Tracy Murphy, Fawn Myers, Beth Pool, Jennifer Rilea,
Theresa Sage, Sybil Smit, Sandra Swan, Carmen Villegas, Alicia Vogelaar, Jeanie Wallace, Karen Cyris, Terri Eves-Knudsen, Dennis Martin and Marla Carroll.
“These are folks who have stepped out a little bit on the edge, stepped out and stepped up to build a culture and a climate at Sobrato,” Superintendent Carolyn McKennan said when the transfers were announced in January. “I am in envy of them and the opportunity they have. This is an awesome group of teachers representative of the awesome teachers across our district … I really envy all of them … What an exciting time for them.”
Knapp said the district has hired a music director, Erik Kalish, who has met with all students who signed up for band and their parents to determine what the music program at Sobrato will look like. The rest of the staff has not been idle either, Knapp said Wednesday, with informal meetings throughout the summer and formal staff development recently.
“I think they’re pretty excited,” he said. “For a while there, I was getting calls daily checking on things, how things were coming along with the construction.
“We had a department chair meeting and staff development today and tomorrow, looking at how to use the new Apple computers, how to use Pinnacle (the computerized attendance system), and an overview to some of other things like the phone system.”
The staff development training included training on Apple’s iLife program, said Knapp, which is a production program used to teach students how to create video projects.
“We have a second strand (of professional development) looking at literacy and Cornell Notes, a college note-taking method we want all kids to use, and a reading strategy, all applying them to their specific content area,” he said.
