Teacher Spotlight For February '20

Teacher name: Michael Van Luven.

Location: Yucca Valley Community School.

Number of years teaching: 19 years.

What made you decide to be a teacher: I worked at a group home for boys that were taken away from their homes for committing crimes of sexual abuse. Over 99 percent of the boys I worked with were victims themselves of sexual crimes. During my time working at Trinity Family Youth Services, I felt I made an impact on the young people I worked with. I felt I could connect with at-risk youth and S.B County Schools was the perfect opportunity to start my career as a teacher.

Teaching philosophy: My philosophy in teaching is to build relationships first and show the students my passion for learning and the love of life. Students need to know first that you care about their well-being and their education. Once a student knows you care about them, they will give more effort in your classroom.

Describe what takes place in your classroom or location: I believe in having a structured class, but one that can be flexible enough to meet the specific needs of the students in the classroom. I believe in a combination of direct instruction and independent work. 21st century students need to have technical skills that they can apply in the classroom and in the workplace. I believe in creating a classroom culture by way of having students read novels out loud. I have implemented a ticket system for students that are engaged and read out loud to the class. I feel this creates rapport amongst the students, as well as creating accountability for the students to partake in the curriculum. I use Google Classroom daily where students read, write, use Google Slides and make a presentation to the classroom. Students need to take pride in the work they create as well as being engaged in the curriculum.

Most valuable contribution to students: I feel my passion for life and my love of learning can be contagious. I am a people person and think I empathize with all my students and build lasting relationships with them. For example, a former student from three years ago came to the school and asked for a letter of recommendation. I gladly obliged the student’s request for the letter of recommendation. Just this week the student let me know he was hired at Wal-Mart and he was very thankful for the letter and what I have done for him.

What have your students taught you: My students have taught me that grit comes in many different forms. Our students do not get to choose who their parents will be, and they are subjected to their parents’ poor decisions often. I admire the grit and determination that some of our students must overcome the obstacles they face in life.

Teacher Spotlight for April '19

Teacher name: Monica Lee.

Location: Oak Hills High School in Hesperia for Desert/Mountain Operations.

Number of years teaching:
15 years.

What made you decide to be a teacher: My nephew Andrew. He was born with cerebral palsy, visual impairments and severe intellectual impairments. We were 10 years apart and my mom raised him. I remember my mom being frustrated with the lack of care he was receiving at school, and I wanted to grow up and be the kind of teacher who parents could trust and count on.

Teaching philosophy: I truly believe that if a student doesn’t trust and feel safe with you, then they won’t work for you. In order to gain a student’s trust, you first have to learn about who they are. Knowing about a student’s likes/dislikes, family, pets, favorite foods, toys, etc., is vital when teaching. When a student realizes you understand who they are and what makes them happy or sad, then they will usually try their best for you.

Describe what takes place in your classroom or location: My classroom is a moderate/severe high school class, and our main focus is on preparing our students for life beyond high school. We do a lot of community-based instruction, vocational tasks in the classroom, and some students participate in the Workability program and go work at Rue 21 in Hesperia. Along with this, we have a lot of fun at our site. We have weekly dance parties, play bingo for prizes and do Zumba!

Most valuable contribution to students: My most valuable contribution to my students is my ability to see beyond their disability. I see what they can do already and build on those strengths, and then together we just keep on building and building.

What have your students taught you: The most important thing my students have taught me is to just go with the flow of life and not be so rigid and needing of control. When teaching special students, each day is different based on the moods and temperament of the students. Because of this, I have learned to be flexible, more easy-going, and accepting. Life for me is easier because of these lessons, and I owe that to my students.

Staff Spotlight For December 2016

Name: Michael Carter.

Location: Roy C Hill Education Center/Technical Services.

Number of years with County Schools: 18 years.

Describe your position and the work that takes place in your office: My position as a network administrator has many roles. Providing guidance and direction for our helpdesk staff that does such a magnificent job of supporting our students, staff and teachers with all of their technology needs is high on the list. Other duties as assigned include working with districts and other programs such as CAHELP to advise and assist in integrating and maintaining technology for their specific programs. I also work with the TECH JPA group in the care and feeding of the myriad of servers that support the Financial2000 system.

How does your work support county students: We support students directly by ensuring that technology is accessible, functional and relevant. We regularly research, deploy and maintain technology ranging from the everyday computer appliances the public is familiar with and also assistive technology devices that are less well known to the general populace but enable our students with special needs to have the same types of access to technology in education. We indirectly support students by our everyday interactions with teachers and staff in the field.

Talk about your work as a newly published author: I have been a hobby photographer for many years. Macro (closeup) and nature photography is my happy place, although my current focus is leading me to portraiture. In my free time over the past two years, I have been sharing my photography with many other talented people around the world on Instagram. I developed quite a following not just for my photography, but also for the silly, humorous captions I would add to the photos. At the urging of many of my wonderful friends in the community I put together a book of my photos and the humorous captions titled, “WAIT FOR IT…” I self-published this 160-page coffee table book at the end of October. I am very proud of the book and am already planning for a second volume. You can see a bit of my inflated ego (in a silly way) in the book’s description:

“The only coffee table photography book, with a humorous twist you will ever need. A strikingly beautiful mélange of nature, portraits, and macro photography paired with thought provoking, quirky and funny observations from newly discovered humorist and American treasure, Michael Carter. Michael has burst onto the funny photo book scene with a fresh and original 160-page masterpiece that has turned this genre on its ear. Be dazzled by the gorgeous images while you feast on his undeniably bone tickling humor.”

Staff Spotlight For September 2016

Name: Dave Reck.

Location: Brier Building.

Number of years with County Schools: 23 years.

Describe your position and the work that takes place in your office: Director of Business Support Services; the BSS staff supports SBCSS by providing facility planning and construction; maintenance, operations and transportation; and purchasing/contracts services.

How does your work support county students: Provide and maintain schools and classrooms; transport special education students to and from school; purchase and contract for all the supplies and services that are needed to operate a school and classrooms.

Talk about your years in public service: I enlisted in the United States Air Force on May 26, 1966. Following basic training, my pay as an E-2 was a whole $100 per month, plus another $132.30 per month for rent and food. Later as an officer, I served as a Titan II Missile Combat Crew Commander where I spent countless hours waiting to push the button; maintenance officer for both the Titan II and Minuteman III weapon systems; staff officer at Strategic Air Command Headquarters followed by executive to the chief of staff; five years on the Air Staff at the Pentagon; my Air Force career culminated with four years at the Ballistic Missile Office at Norton Air Force Base.

Two weeks before formally retiring from the Air Force, I began a transition program with the Riverside County Office of Education that was designed to ease the transition from aerospace to school business. The program included a short internship with the San Bernardino City School District after which I began my encore career at San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools.

I have been blessed with two great careers. The opportunity to meet the challenges of both has been extremely satisfying, particularly the opportunity to work the corridors of power in Washington, D.C., and to plan and construct schools for SBCSS students.