The start of the school year has brought the promise of change to Esperanza, which can be easily seen in the additions to our staff. Seven new teachers have joined the Aztec ranks this year, including Courtney Miller, who is on maternity leave and will not be covered in this article.

Many teachers are simply in a new location and have taught in the past. For example, new to the art department is Mrs. Lynn Magnin, who has been teaching for ten years and has a B.A. in Design from UCLA.

“I want to make a vibrant art club,” she said in reference to her goals for the school year. “I plan on decorating the glass cases in the 200 building, entering as many art contests as possible and teaching painting and drawing techniques to all students.”

Another such teacher is Mr. Doug Miller, who previously taught in Vallejo and Alameda. He teaches Spanish and German, the latter of which is a main passion of his; he’s spoken it since high school.

“German is more exotic than other languages,” he said. “In high school it seemed like more of a challenge, in a good way.”

Finally is Mr. Raymond Martin, who has taught for six years and currently teaches world history and English language development.

“I always had good teachers that got me interested in social studies,” he said, “I’ve always felt attracted to the subject.”

In addition, we have new teachers that began teaching more recently, at one and two years. 2016 marks the first official teaching year for Erica McNab, who teaches Language Arts 2 Honors and College Prep.

“Language provides a unique way of connecting people to one another,” she said. “I want to inspire as many students as I can to find a passion for reading and writing.”

Another addition to our language arts department is Nataly Garcia, who is on her second year and has a Bachelor’s degree in English from CSUF. English is her favorite subject.

“Growing up I loved theatre and reading, and humanities in general,” she said. “English is something anyone can benefit from.”

Rounding out Esperanza’s new teachers is Steven Kahn, who is on his first year and teaches Algebra 1 and Exploring Computer Science, as well as AP Computer Science Principles, which was his first teaching subject. He also worked as a programmer before being a teacher.

“I want to get the kids thinking,” he said. “Computer science teaches thinking, problem solving and other skills that will apply the rest of their lives.”