New and Departing Teachers

Jaime Carbajal: Leaving the teacher world

Jaime Carbajal, is now the assistant principal of Animo Jefferson Charter Middle School. His previous occupation was being a history teacher of sixth and eighth grade students for three years. He says the process looked like going through trainings and going through an interview process. For example, he had to teach a demo lesson as If he were to speak to teachers. He also had to go through regular phone interviews. On those phone interviews, questions were asked on how Carbajal would react in certain situations. He also had to observe teachers and give them feedback as part of a demo lesson. He also had an interview with the staff members, parents and the office members.

He went through this whole process because he said, “I thought I could have a bigger effect on the school. I’ve been here since the very beginning, since the school first opened…When it became an option, it just seemed like something I would want to be interested in o help out the school as much as I could in a different role.” he also said there was a shortage of an assistant principal since Mr. Hands left. So he decided to apply for the position after being approached on this matter. Carbajal said he is in charge of many things for example school culture (organize things for students to celebrate when they do well games, student recognition, advisory lessons for being better students etc.) but he said he’s mostly in charge of discipline and safe and civil where he ensures the school is as safe as possible for example ensuring there are good evacuation routes. He said that he also coaches teachers by observing them and work with them to assist them in order to improve.

Carbajal said, “ I think I’ll always miss teaching but I’m happy with what I’m doing now too.” He said, “It’s been a very different feeling because when you’re a teacher, you get used to doing certain things. You teach … the same lessons over and over throughout the day, have students come in and out, and you know exactly what you’re going to do every day and what’s coming your way because you’re the one that plans … the lesson. When you’re an administrator, you can plan to do something, and something else might pop up and you have to deal with that… other things get out, like you never know what you’re going to expect…It’s just something that you get used to.” But he said, “Every day I learn something new… and in general, I think that you’re always going to be learning something in this position just like as a teacher, every day you could learn something…”

Now, with this position, Carbajal said, “Frankly I could say I was pretty overwhelmed in the beginning, and it was a lot to take in and it’s a lot that comes at you, I still feel like there’s a lot that I could learn and I think that I’m going to be learning for a very long time but I’m happy to be doing the learning”.

Mikel Edillon: Leaving the school 

Mikel Edillon was a technology teacher at Animo Jefferson Charter Middle School and he taught 6^th and 7^th graders. He is now part of the department head in Long Beach Unified. He said, “I am department head in Long Beach Unified and a Common core Lead teacher.” Edillon said that he decided to make a switch because he said, “I felt that I could not contribute in the way that was appropriate for Animo  Jefferson.” He said that the transition from his old occupation to his new one wasn’t hard because he said, “Any time to change is always exiting because there’s always new opportunities.”He also said, “It’s exciting, a lot of work and I feel well qualified for it…It allows me to contribute to teachers and that work will contribute to their students.”

Edillon said, “Regarding a normal day:

I get to school at 7:45 and, when I don’t have meetings, prepare for school to start at 9:00.  One meeting out of the month, I train teachers ways to teach according to the Common Core.

I have the same Advisory class for first period for the entire year where we have announcements and I help students with anything they need.

Then, I teach 3 sections of Accelerated Health class and 1 section of General Health before lunch.

Then, I have conference.  This is the period when I can more closely work with other colleagues and help them with developing Common Core lessons.    When I am lucky, I get to work on my lessons and communicate with parents during this time.

Finally, I complete the school day with 1 more section of Accelerated Health.  School is over at 3:40.

My Office Hours are on Mondays from 3:45-4:45.

After school I attend many trainings for my District and have many meetings as a Department Head and Common Core Lead Teacher.  When I don’t have meetings, I’m at school until 8 or 9 pm, preparing lessons, grading or communicating with students and their parents online.  Other times, I attend student games or concerts.

When I get home, I continue to work and communicate with parents and students online until 9.  After 9, I no longer answer students but continue answering parents until 11.

Finally, time to sleep at (hopefully) 11:30…”

New Teachers

Christina Bonfiglio: Still here but with a new title

Christina Bonfiglio, at Animo Jeferson went from the majority of the year being a science substitute teacher for 8^th graders, to being a Math Teacher teaching 8^th grade General Math and 7^th grade Math Foundations. The previous year (school year 2012-2013), Bonfiglio says that aside from teaching 8^th grade science as a substitute teacher, she taught 8^th and 7^th grade Math Foundations for a month and a half.

Bonfiglio says, “I think I saw the open position online and I applied… So I started as a long term sub. in the meantime” But before she came into contact with AJCMS, Bonfiglio moved from New York and taught 8^th grade Math and science. Since she was comfortable with teaching math and that is what she was certified in, it wasn’t difficult to perform the change. She said, “Well I’m certified in math, so that’s what I wanted to teach, so that wasn’t hard. It was a little hard teaching science last year… because that wasn’t my focus area, but it was fun, like I’ve taught science in the past so I knew basically, what to do. So either one, I enjoy. But I’m used to teaching 8^th grade math.”

For her undergrad,she graduated from the University of Arizona and got her teaching credential at Chapman University. Bonfiglio got her Master’s degree there as well. In order to get this position, she said she didn’t have to go through an interview because  she was already at AJCMS but she did have to go through an interview to work as a long-term substitute teacher. But to start the position as a math teacher, she said she let others know that she was interested in a full-time position and she said that when one came available,  she got observed and they decided to hire her. But coming in contact for the first time with the school, Bonfiglio said “I was nervous, you’re always nervous during an interview and you don’t know how the kids are going to react in a demo lesson, if they know the material, if they don’t know the material, if they’re not going to get it…just nervous about, are you going to finish your lesson…”

She said that she wanted to remain at Animo Jefferson Charter Middle School because she said, “I liked the school, I like everybody I work with, I like the kids and I like what I’m teaching.” And she says that it was a good choice to have the position because she says she’s enjoying herself. Bonfiglio says that while she’s here, she impacts students by giving students skills to be successful. She said, “I think that you guys are definitely having a tough year because we’re transitioning from how you used to learn math, to a new way of learning it where you guys have to write more, you have to think more, you have to think more on your own, and so I think I’m impacting you by giving you those skills to be successful. Next year when you have to take the state test and they’re going to be more difficult but I think because you’re struggling this year, you guys will be ready next year.”

Sherish Jamshed:

Animo Jefferson Charter Middle school new history teacher Sherish Jamshed said,” I love learning and teaching and working with kids. My favorite thing doing here is teaching history, I hated history, but when I got to college, I liked it because it was just very interesting. The students are doing a million times better and their grades are going up and I feel very happy. I just love it.”

Jamshed said that she would try her best to help the students at AJCMS as much as she possibly could. “I did my Bachelors of Arts and History from UCLA. Then I went and did my Master’s in Columbia and after that I did Teaching Credentials then received my California State Credentials. I went through a interview to teach here and a demo version class.”

According to her, she was excited, but nervous as well during the demo-class (a lesson to prove the capability of your teaching ability and become evaluated). “Something that I am proud of that I’ve accomplished is that I think I am helping the students improve. The school I taught at before this was New Horizon School in Pasadena, it was both an elementary and middle school.”, said Jamshed. According to her, she missed her old students and her students were sad to find out she was leaving.