March 2026 eNewsletter

It was my great pleasure to witness the graduation of 13 new teachers who successfully completed our Spring into Teaching credential program: Ruben Antilla, Brianna Davalos, Lindsay Duggan, Alyssa English, Juan Espinoza, Faith Lewis, Kristin Merrifield, Salina Perales, Norma Quintana, Angie Rodriguez-Sims, Joel Rodriguez Jr., Rachael White, and Heather Zaragoza (nine of whom are pictured).

The graduation symposium was a culmination of our one-year teaching credential program offered in partnership with UMass Global. It is a unique pathway into teaching for our Assistant Classroom Educators who have a BA and would like to become teachers. The program is in its 3rd year and is funded by a Teacher Residency Implementation grant.

The event honored 13 graduates from this past year who can now go on to become teachers; some have already been offered teaching positions with Springs. Both Vivian Price and I were pleased to serve as speakers.

I wish to thank all who attended, including our mentor teachers, some of our site administrators, Monica Lopez (senior director of instructional support), and Katherine Pangle (senior director of academies). Also present were the Spring into Teaching staff, including Heidi Medina (teacher residency and grant coordinator), Stephanie Goode (university supervisor), Karen Arnett (director of teacher and student support and the director overseeing the Spring into Teaching program), and our UMass Global and Spring into Teaching Liaison Dionne Archibek.