Teacher Appreciation at Rolling Hills

For Teacher Appreciation Week—May 2-6—Patch decided to shine light on some great schools that often go greatly unnoticed by the public at large. Throughout the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, students and teachers are sharing what makes a good educator. Check back daily this week to hear from more kids!

One of the schools, Rolling Hills Middle School, has a staff of caring teachers with innovative curricula—making it one of Patch's featured schools this week. Patch toured the campus asking staff and students what they believe to be the recipe of a great educator, and here's what they had to say.

Jackie Quintana, an eighth grader, says teachers that care about students and push them to be successful in life are great educators in her eyes.

“[A great educator is] someone who cares about you because some teachers don't really care—they'll just teach to teach and don't really care about the student,” 14-year-old Quintana said.

When inquiring about a teacher who seemed to truly care about students' success, Quintana recalled Mr. Beem,  a former seventh grade teacher at Rolling Hills.

"You know how most teachers just do the subject, and they don't really care—he did," Quintana said. "We'd do projects [and] last time we did something he got water from Pinto Lake and he showed the class how bacteria grows in there and we did really fun activities in his class."

Rick Ito, Rolling Hills principal, says the school has great educators because they always try to employ a staff that works well together and truly cares for children, which has helped them improve every year.

“I think what makes a great educator is a teacher who can make connections with kids and then inspire them to want to learn more,” Ito explained. “I can say right now that one of the biggest compliments we get from new teachers coming in is that the teachers that are here are super helpful, welcoming, and they enjoy being here—that's one of the strengths of Rolling Hills right now, is just the staff.”

Eighth grader Maranda Cabanlit seconds Ito's opinion, saying the teachers are the reason she likes Rolling Hills.

“They do a lot of work for us to try to achieve our goals and have a good education and future,” 13-year-old Cabanlit said.

Mike Donegan, who teachers seventh-grade humanities, language arts and history, is the quintessential figure of a caring teacher, as he strives to show students—from all backgrounds—the fun side of learning.

“A lot of our population is sort of 'at risk.' I think we have a 75 percent free or reduced lunch population, and showing them that school isn't just being forced to do it, that there are things that they're going to get pleasure from [is part of being an effective educator],” Donegan said.

Donegan's picture of a great educator—someone who works as a life-long learner by continually researching new methods and strategies to relate with and effectively educate students–is a picture he tries to realize every day.

“There's always something new to add to your classroom, whether it be reading up on curriculum or classroom management strategies or just simple things like 'oh new technology's coming your way, how can we apply this technology into the classroom,'” Donegan said. “Some of the better things I did was reading a book by Kylene Beers, When Kids Can't Read, it gave some incredible strategies and some pretty simple approaches that allow for greater success for students.”

Despite a nationally-recognized week dedicated to appreciating teachers, Donegan says teacher appreciation is something he experiences on a daily basis.

“Personally, as for teacher appreciation, I get it every time I walk into the classroom—that's really where the reward is,” he said.