Monica Rivero

It's a pleasure to add myself to this post. My name is Monica Rivero and I teach Spanish and AVID at Milpitas High School, in Milpitas. I have been here at the high school since 2001. I teach level 2 Spanish and a newly formed Heritage Speakers course. I also have a group of freshman that I will guide in their four years of high school in hopes of getting them collegebound. I am also part of a committee on campus that work with our 500 or so Latino Student Body. Our group works year round on developing activities for our kids. We are dedicated to closing the achievement gap at our school.

On a personal level I live in San Jose, and love spending time with my two kids, a 3 year old and a 2 year old. Like Alec I too love Disneyland and pretty much enjoy doing kid related activities. I also really enjoy reading, although I don't get to do too much of it with the kids. Overall I am a family person.

I am really looking forward to upgrading my technology skills to better engage my students. I too sometimes feel that I am using the same thing over and over. I look forward to meeting all of you. I am also very excited about the fact that there are several Spanish teachers in the program, that is a rarity in the trainings or workshops I have attended before.

Paulette Smith

Technology is exciting and inspiring. I use the computer in many ways in my class and for home. There are so many other ways I would like to engage with computers in the classroom. I am interested in digital story telling, student blogging, and a school web page. This past year I drove down to Beverly Hills to attend the CUE conference. It was a lot of fun and I learned how to create an iMovie of my class for a project.

I am a teacher at Garfield Elementary in Oakland, Ca. My entire career has been teaching the fourth grade. I love it! I have a class from heaven this year; they love school, love to work and are very interested in the world around them. I am the field trip guru at my school. I think 4th grade is the last opportunity for the students to see the community they live in so I've taken them everywhere.

I wear many hats at my school. I plan and run all of our school assemblies, I am the science trainer for newly adopted FOSS curriculum and science site coordinator, I am the Grade Level Chair, and I oversee the two school gardens. I also participate on many councils, boards, and committees.

This year I planned many very exciting school wide events: Biz World Market Day, Career Connections Day and Garfield Pump It Up Day.

I am raising four boys ages: 18, 17, 13, and 7. My sons are all going through their own changes. I feel very lucky because they are all in school, respectful and they have good friends. I worry about their future in a world economy that wont be kind to them as they branch off on their own. As African-American men they have an even tougher road ahead. My oldest son attends Laney College and plays on their football team. My second oldest loves his cooking classes. My youngest son is a self proclaimed artist and is a very outgoing personality. My middle son loves old school music and going to the gym.

I look forward to meeting and dialoguing with all of you!

Kind regards,

Paulette Smith

Alec MacKenzie

Hi Everyone,

My name is Alec MacKenzie. I teach 8th grade English/Language Arts and a few levels of Spanish at Crocker Middle School in Hillsborough (just south of San Francisco).

I am a Bay Area native raised in Palo Alto. I majored in Spanish at U.C. Santa Barbara and got my teaching credential and my Master's in Education from STEP at Stanford. I taught high school for two years, but soon decided that middle school was a better fit for me. I've been at Crocker for 13 years now.

My partner and I have been together for over 13 years and have a beautiful little girl named Callie. She just turned 2 back in December. Hopefully, by the time we all meet each other in person in July he and I will be back "on the list" waiting to add one more to our family. As you can see by the picture I posted, we are Disney freaks and go several times a year to Disneyland. Beyond traveling (I've been to 49 of the United States - ask me which one I'm missing!), I am also training for my second half-marathon. I'll be training throughout the summer, so you may see me after the Institute ends each day lacing up my running shoes and heading for Sawyer Camp Trail for a run. I also am an avid reader, a lifelong puzzle solver, and a fan of all things related to the Spanish language. My one big "claim to fame" is that I was on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" several years ago. I had the time of my life, and my students enjoyed playing along with me -- especially when I missed a question they all knew from science class!

I am excited to be a part of the institute this summer. Although I get to use some pretty cool technology every day, I feel like I keep using the same things over and over. I am interested in expanding my horizons and seeing what else is out there and how I can incorporate it into my classes. I am especially interested in digital videos (creating/editing/using in lessons). This is one area where I have no experience.

I look forward to meeting you all in person. Enjoy the last few months of school!

Raudy Perez

Hello Ya'll!

Yes, I'm from the South--TX to be exact! I just moved to the Bay Area this past summer and am working at Gunn High School in Palo Alto where I teach Algebra I and Algebra II/Trig-Honors. I am also the head girl's volleyball coach. I graduated in 2005 from the University of Texas at Austin (hook 'em!) with a BS in mathematics and attained a secondary teaching certificate during my course work. I will complete my third year of teaching this school year and have been coaching volleyball for eight years. I really love doing both!

I am excited to be a part of the KCI Merit Program because I really enjoy using technology in the classroom. I am anxious to learn about the many new fun and exciting things the program has to offer. Although I only plan to be in the classroom for another year, I know that this 3-week program will immediately impact me and my students.

I hope to be enrolled in a PhD program by the Fall of 2009. My ultimate goal is to be helping teachers in their classroom and/or preparing future teachers to be successful educators of tomorrow. It may be that I begin a program such as KCI elsewhere in order to provide educators with a refreshing approach to engage their students in the classroom.

I can't wait to be working with each of you!

~Raudy

Chris Heumann

I'm Chris Heumann, the Merit Program Director for the Krause Center for Innovation. I've worked with the fantastic staff of the KCI for 6 years and continue to learn new things daily.
I have been teaching 7th grade science at Kennedy Middle School in Cupertino for 21 years and have had a blast working and playing with the most amazing students around. Starting in 1989 I began to work with many other teachers to find ways to utilize technology to become better at teaching, learning, and creating. The potential has risen exponentially since then, as has my enthusiasm and experiences. Next year I'll be headed towards high school (finally). The best part of my life, of course, is my wife (Amy) and our three daughters (Hannah, Abby, and Olivia).