PUSD Congratulates Village High School Teacher Russell Sato

Press release from the Pleasanton Unified School District:

May 8, 2021

Pleasanton, California – Pleasanton Unified School District (PUSD) congratulates
Village High School teacher Russell Sato as its 2021-22 Teacher of the Year.

Mr. Sato has served the Village community as an English and College and Career
Readiness teacher for the last eight years, and is a leader among campus peers. He’s
involved in school site and district committees and has led the Village WASC team.
Following the abrupt shift to remote learning in March 2020, Sato collaborated to create
the Village Virtual School to provide easier access to academic resources for students.

“He’s the embodiment of the spirit of Village,” said Village High School Senior Brian
Glasco. “The support that he’s given and shown let me know he does care and that
there are people that want me to succeed.He makes sure to let everybody know that
they matter, that he’s here to help.”

Known as ‘Sato’ around campus, he’s beloved for the connections he makes in the
classroom by engaging each student.

“It's hard to capture all of the amazing qualities of Russell. I can only say that as a
lifelong educator, Russell is exactly the kind of teacher that I only hope that every child
is able to work with every school year,” Director of Educational Options Heather Pereira
said. “The combination of high expectations with a warm demeanor produces
tremendous gains with our students. They emerge from Russell's class a more
confident and competent person.”

Sato’s name will be submitted to be considered for the Alameda County Teacher of the
Year Awards, which will be held in October 2021.

This press release was produced by the Pleasanton Unified School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.