Mr. Broecker grew up in rural Minnesota and attended the University of Minnesota and UC Berkeley. He spent the first part of his career as an Elementary and High School French teacher. In 2002, he began working at Alvarado as a Curriculum-Technology Integration Specialist. The 2008-2009 school year is Mr. Broecker's second as Principal of Alvarado.

more about Mr. Broecker

 

This is Patty's first year at Alvarado, where she works in the front office from 8:30 a.m -12:30 p.m. Patty is bilingual Spanish/English, as her parents are from Nicaragua. Prior to working at Alvarado, she worked in Translation for SFUSD. She has two teenage boys, loves to travel, and is especially fond of Japanese food and culture.

 

Ms. Artiga, who has been working for SFUSD for 16 years, has been teaching at Alvarado for the last 12 of those years. She is originally from Guatemala but has been living in the United States since 1984, originally coming here to study.

 

 

2008-2009 is Mr. Bianchi's 15th year teaching in SFUSD and his second year at Alvarado. Originally from the great state of Ohio, Marco loves reading, cycling and performing music and feels good about landing at Alvarado.

 

 

Mr. Guzmán, a 5th grade teacher, has been teaching in the Spanish Immersion program at Alvarado for 9 years.

 

 

 

Ms. Ortiz loves children and she loves math. She has been a teacher for 27 years and has spent the last 12 of those years at Alvarado. She began teaching Kingergarten here, then 2nd/3rd grade, and now 2nd grade. Ms. Ortiz is originally from El Salvador and Nicaragua. She has been living in the United States since age 9, when she came here with her family to join her father, who had opened a bookstore here.

 

Ms. Pickens, who grew up in Sonoma County and Colorado, has been a teacher at Alvarado for the past 5 years. Prior to teaching at Alvarado, she taught at Charles Drew in San Francisco and at a school in West Africa. Ms. Pickens has extensive international experience, having lived in Namibia, Guinea, and Micronesia, where she was a Peace Corps volunteer. In her spare time, she loves hiking, cooking, yoga, reading and biking.

 

Ms. Pryor, in conjunction with a group of Paraprofessionals, works with a group of 10 Special Education children in grades K-2. This is her 3rd year at Alvarado. Prior to teaching here, she worked in Richmond for 3 years. Ms. Pryor has also worked as a Music Therapist. In her spare time, she loves playing the guitar, singing, yoga and running.

 

Ms. Raquel has been teaching at Alvarado for 14 years, and has been teaching 1st grade here for 5 years. Prior to teaching 1st grade, she taught Special Needs children and Kindergarten. She loves teaching and loves 1st grade because of the amazing emotional and physical growth of the kids during the year. Ms. Raquel, who is originally from New York, attended SF State, and has lived in San Francisco since 1980.

 

This is Ms. Sapper's 5th year at Alvarado. She began as the school's Science teacher, then started teaching Kindergarten four years ago. She loves teaching young children because of the enthusiasm, movement, and music in the classroom. Ms. Sapper grew up in Arizona and attended school at USF and SF State. Her name, Malaika, is a Swahili word, probably influenced by her grandfather, who worked for the United Nations.

 

Melissa Serrano, who has spent her career working with children, has been working for GLO at Alvarado for the last 12 years. Prior to working for GLO at Alvarado, she worked for GLO at West Portal. Melissa is a native San Francisco resident whose 3 children are Alvarado alums. She's also a proud first-time "guardian" of chocolate lab Maya.

 

Mr. Sierra loves music. World music. Any music. His favorite artist is Mexican singer Lila Downs. He was born in the United States, grew up in Mexico, then returned to the U.S. to study English and become a teacher here. He first gained teaching credentials in Elementary and High School education in Mexico, then validated those degrees at SF State. This is his 12th year at Alvarado.

 

Ms. Rosalie, an LA native, has been teaching since 1990, and she has been teaching at Alvarado for the past 4 years. She studied at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and SF State. Ms. Rosalie learned Spanish from her mother, who is originally from Peru, and has two children who are currently in the Spanish Immersion program at Alvarado.

 

Dan Stingle, who holds an MFA from San Francisco State with an emphasis in ceramic sculpture and an undergraduate degree in Biology, has been teaching at Alvarado for 2 years. Prior to Alvarado, he was working with art organizations at different public elementary schools. Mr. Stingle boasts bronze sculpture installations in Yosemite, Chrissy Field, San Simeon, and Santa Cruz harbor, as well as mosaics at several public schools.

 

Nancy Velasco, who is originally from El Salvador, has been working full-time at Alvarado for the past 7 years. Prior to working full-time here, she was a volunteer in Ms. Baker-Flynn's classroom. And, prior to her work at Alvarado, Nancy volunteered at St. Peter's Housing, an advocacy group in San Francisco's Mission District that works with immigrant communities to ensure fair housing conditions.

 

Ms. Woodworth, Alvarado's 4th-5th grade Dual Immersion teacher, has been teaching at Alavarado for the past 10 years. She's a Stanford graduate who first learned Spanish as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala, where she worked on a fresh water fisheries project.