Sylmar Magnet High School

	Joey's Sylmar Magnet High School Experience

Staff Brief Biographies

Ken Coulson - Mathematics Mr. Coulson received his B.S. in mathematics from California State Polytechnic University where he graduated with honors. Additionally, he had an M.S. in computer sciences from West Coast University. Prior to beginning his teaching career, Mr. Coulson spent over twenty years in the computer industry as a systems engineer, software developer and later doing marketing and sales. His entire computer industry career was devoted to developing high technology solutions for engineering and scientific applications. Mr. Coulson came to Sylmar High school in 1995 from Burbank Middle School where he taught mathematics to both English and Spanish speaking students.

When away from education, he enjoys such diverse activities as listening to classical music and following the stock market. But his real interest is being OUTSIDE camping, hiking and backpacking.

Larry Friedrich - Mathematics Mr Friedrich was born in Mitchell South Dakota in 1948 where he lived on a farm until he was 10. In 1959 he moved to Reseda and graduated from Reseda High School in 1966. He earned his B.S. degree in physics from San Fernando Valley State College (CSUN) in 1972. He has worked as a lab technician and an engineer. For seven years he was self employed as a swimming pool technician (Yep. He cleaned them.) In 1985 he was admitted to the Teacher Trainee Program with LAUSD. Mr. Friedrich comes to us from San Fernando Middle School where he taught math for ten years. His wife Deborah is also a teacher and Mr. Friedrich's inspiration. They have two grown children, Angela and Joseph and one grandson Jack. He has lived in Simi Valley for 25 years.

Claudia Reyes-Mathematics Mrs. Reyes received her B.S. in electrical engineering from California State University, Northridge. She also earned her M.S. in Mathematics at CSUN. She came to Sylmar Magnet in September of 1996. This is her thirteenth year with LAUSD.

Mrs. Reyes was born in the San Fernando Valley and has been a resident of Sylmar all of her life. She attended El Dorado Elementary, Olive Vista Junior High and is a graduate of Sylmar High. She enjoys reading and drawing, but most importantly, she enjoys spending time with her husband and son, Martín and baby daughter Elisa.

Arlene Gonzales - Science Twenty years after leaving Sylmar High School, Ms. Gonzales is returned as a teacher in 1997. She attended Harding Street Elementary, culminated from San Fernando Junior High, and graduated from Sylmar High. Ms. Gonzales went on to attend Stanford University, where she earned her bachelor's degree in Human Biology. She also has a Master of Arts in Instructional Leadership and Curriculum Development.

Upon graduation from Stanford University, Ms. Gonzales coordinated a cancer study at USC's School of Medicine. During the five year study, Ms. Gonzales began tutoring students from her former junior high school. Although her original plans were to enter medical school after the completion of the study, Ms. Gonzales said, "I found my true calling while working with students: being an educator." She then earned her teaching credential and has taught life, physical, and earth sciences, as well as health, to students at San Fernando Middle School for the past nine years. While at San Fernando Middle School, Ms. Gonzales co-authored a Program Implementation Request grant, coordinated the Tobacco Use Prevention Education Program, and served as an Impact program facilitator, and as the Los Angeles - Systemic Initiative lead teacher. Ms. Gonzalez is always participating in student clubs and activities, for it supports her philosophy: "To enhance the life and spirit of young people." For Ms. Gonzalez, there is no better means to reach this goal than through education.

Outside of school, Ms. Gonzales enjoys movies, music, the theater, and spending time with family and friends.

Jonathan Hayes - Chemistry Mr. Hayes earned his B.A. in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from California State University, Los Angeles. He later earned Masters' of Arts degrees in Secondary Education, Business Administration and Media Communications. Before coming to the Sylmar High Magnet in 1994, he taught Chemistry, Physical Science, ECP and Astronomy at Garfield High School for eight years where he also served as Impact Coordinator. Mr. Hayes has also worked as a chemist and done research in industry.

Mr. Hayes is trained as a grief counselor. He enjoys a wide variety of interests outside of teaching including video production for cable companies, singing and clothing design. He feels it is important to encourage social responsibility in his students as well as academic excellence.

Barbara Lindsay - Physics and Chemistry Mrs. Lindsay was born and raised in South River, New Jersey. She has been a Sylmar resident for 31 years. She and her husband Bob have three children, all graduates of Sylmar High School and college graduates. She is active in local community organizations. She has served as an officer for various PTA'S, Boy Scouts, and a number of civic organizations. She is an ongoing volunteer for programs at the Sylmar Recreation Center. She has also been a community representative on advisory committees for the Mayor of Los Angeles and several city councilmen.

Mrs. Lindsay holds a Bachelor's degree in Science Education and a Master's Degree in Chemistry from Syracuse University in New York. For 12 years she taught Biological, Physical and Marine Science at Olive Vista Middle School. At Olive Vista she served as Science Department Chair, Chemical Safety Coordinator, Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) advisor, Yosemite Institute Program Leader and Impact Program advisor. She holds professional memberships in various national and state science associations. She came to Sylmar Magnet in September of 1995.

Ken Barker - English On a visit to downtown Los Angeles one day, Ken Barker got lost. Wandering into the School District's offices to ask for directions, he was captured and enslaved for eleven years as an English and E.S.L. teacher. In recent years he has been allowed out at night to work for other educational organizations such as the Los Angeles Educational Partnership, UCLA, and the Galif Institute. Parents are encouraged to visit Sylmar High and view Ken as he paces his cage. Please, no feeding.

Phil Brown - English Mr. Brown teaches ninth grade English for the Magnet School and ninth and tenth grade English for the host school. He graduated from Palo Alto High School in Palo Alto, California. He then attended Canada College in Redwood City and later San Francisco State University. He earned his bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1986 and a Master of Arts degree in English in 1993. He has studied drama and theater in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. He has been an instructor at both California State University, Northridge and at UCLA. Mr. Brown taught English and Drama at South Gate High School for five years before coming to Sylmar High School in 1993. He lives in Camarillo with his wife and daughter.

Charlene Hartman - English During my childhood, I lived in many parts of the United States, but I have lived in California the longest. After attending high school in Fullerton, I went on to the University of California, Davis for my B.A. in Sociology of the Inner-City (a major I created, consisting mostly of sociology and ethnic studies courses) with a minor in Comparative Literature. At California State University, Northridge, I finished my English course work and earned my teaching credential. As a college student, I enjoyed working with foreign exchange students, doing social work in the inner-city of Philadelphia, working in Germany for a summer, and traveling through Europe, Japan, and Guatemala. When I am not teaching, I enjoy playing classical music on the piano, cooking, baking, traveling and spending time with my seven year old son.

Katharine Paull - English Ms. Paull first came to Sylmar High School in the fall of 1969. Since then she has served as Department Chair for 12 years and has taught most subjects in the English department including the 12th grade Advanced Placement Literature and Language class. She will also be teaching the Advanced Placement English in the 12th grade for the magnet program. Students in these classes will be expected to read and write extensively for their own information and improvement and in preparation for the A.P. test in May.

Ms. Paull graduated from Dickinson College in Pennsylvania and received a masters degree from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She has two children who attended Verdugo Hills High School and two grandchildren.

Sally Roderick - English Raised in Michigan, Sally Roderick came to Los Angeles in 1969 for a vacation and stayed. She has been a teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District for twenty-eight years and still loves it. "Helping children learn is the ultimate art," she says. "It is at once the most challenging and rewarding job I know." Electing to come to Sylmar High School in 1992, Mrs. Roderick teaches writing and literature with an interdisciplinary team in our Magnet and host schools, and is keenly interested in curriculum design and staff development. When away from school, she keeps active with sewing, traveling with her husband Bill and pet bird, Dutch, and visiting her three children and two grandchildren.

Lynn Volz - English Mrs. Volz has come full circle -- born and raised in Burbank, she now has returned to sunny California to be near family, old friends and the beach although any surfing will be strictly limited to the Internet. She has lived in various places with her husband and two boys. During an eleven year residency in Hawaii, on the Big Island, she returned to college earning her B.A. in English and Teaching credential from the University of Hawaii, Hilo. She has enjoyed teaching all levels of high school English in Hawaii and Green Bay, Wisconsin (Go Packers!). Mrs. Volz enjoys gardening, speed walking, reading, and listening to music including classical, jazz and rock 'n roll from the'60s.

Keith Kurlander - Social Studies Mr. Kurlander comes to us with a wide variety of experience. He served in the Navy. While stationed in Japan, he taught English in private schools. In 1977 he earned his B.A. in History from California State University, Northridge. He earned his M.A. in History from CSUN in 1983. He taught all levels of Social Studies and Human Relations at Maclay Middle School for eighteen years before coming to the Sylmar High Magnet in 1995. In his free time, Mr. Kurlander likes to travel with his wife and two children.

Steven Richmond-Social Studies and ECP I was born, uh..... several years ago in a bucolic corner of the San Fernando Valley known, then and now, as Sun Valley. I am shy about revealing my age but those of you who know your fast food can figure it out: I was born after the invention of buttered toast but before the price of Carl's Famous Star dropped to 99 cents. My father was a musician and comedy writer and so was I. I also spent many years giving tennis lessons to the rich people in the hills that surround us, but these lessons often became shouting matches about politics and history. So I decided to become a history teacher in order to straighten out their children. And the rest, don't you know, is history.

William Winkes - History Mr. Winkes graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in History. He received his teaching credential from Pepperdine University. Mr. Winkes was a Keck Fellow in Seaver College at Pepperdine University and has a Master's Degree in American Studies. Before joining the Sylmar Magnet in 1994, Mr. Winkes taught at Locke High School and Palisades High School. Since 1986 he has taught grades 9 through 12 Social Science classes including World History, U.S. History, A.P. U.S. History, Government, Economics, Cultural Awareness and Future Studies. Previous to his career in education, Mr Winkes was a manager in business for 15 years.

Outside of the Sylmar Magnet, Mr. Winkes interests include his wife Janet, his son Arron, Military History, Science Fiction, woodworking, scale modeling, travel, auto racing and Max (his dog.)

Eleanor Bralver - Health Ms. Bralver earned her B.S. and M.S. from Wayne State University in Michigan. She taught in the Detroit public school system for eight years where she also did camp counseling and leadership. In 1965, Ms. Bralver began teaching with LAUSD and has been at Sylmar High for 32 years. In 1974 she published a book Teens Inside/out and is currently working on a book about gangs. Ms. Bralver is an authority on the problems facing today's youth. She is often asked to speak to community and church groups, educators and other professionals about teen-age problems and concerns.

Francis Wilson - Computer Mr. Wilson began college as a physics major at Cal Tech, continued with a BA and MA in mathematics from UCLA, a Master of Arts in Teaching from Fairleigh Dickenson University and Doctoral work in Mathematics Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. He began working with computers in the classroom as a junior high school math teacher in New York City in 1968. He has been strongly influenced by the work of Seymour Papert at the Logo Lab of MIT.

For twenty-five years, he lived in and around New York City, working sometimes as a math teacher and computer club advisor, soccer and wrestling coach, sometimes as a full-time computer consultant and programmer (FORTRAN, Pascal, and dBASE). After marrying Francesca, he moved back to California five years ago. He was very instrumental in developing the Magnet Computer Lab, which he sees as a wonderful resource for the whole school.

Ana Campos-Spanish I am looking forward to a very exciting and challenging year which I am sure will be a learning experience for you as well as for me. I attended junior and senior high school in the city of Los Angeles and moved to Northridge to begin my college education. I graduated from CSU, Northridge in 1996. My university years were extremely rewarding and dramatically shaped my views about the world. I was able to do many things I had only dreamed of such as traveling to places I had only seen in pictures. I also had the opportunity to interact with other people and cultures and see their way of life. It was truly an enriching experience which I am hoping to share with you throughout the course of the year.

Among other things that I enjoy doing are painting, drawing, reading, and swimming. I would still like to develop other hobbies such as playing the piano or rock climbing. After all, it is never too late to start something new (and by the way, that's my personal philosophy.) Learning is a lifelong journey, and I hope all of you will accompany me in it. I look forward to seeing you in my classroom.

Imelda Hernandez - Spanish Ms. Hernandez was born and raised in Southern California. She attended Herrick Elementary, Olive Vista junior High, and graduated as a Spartan from Sylmar High School. She obtained her BA from UC Santa Barbara and has recently completed her Masters of Education. She has been part of the Spartan staff for the past three years where she has taught various levels of Spanish courses including AP Language. Recently she joined the Magnet family in hope that her students will understand the value and importance of a Foreign Language in this highly demanding world. During her leisure time, Ms. Hernandez enjoys reading, traveling, and learning about the diversity of different cultures.

Debbie Steinert - Coordinator Ms. Steinert has lived in Sylmar since 1965. She attended Sylmar High School and was a member of the Jazz and Marching Bands. She is proud to be a Spartan and has attended every homecoming since 1976. Upon graduating from Sylmar High is 1980, she attended CSUN where she earned a B.A. in Liberal Studies with a minor in Geology. She began teaching Science, Health and Computers at Olive Vista Middle School in 1984. While at Olive Vista, she served as Science Department Chair, Technology Coordinator, Impact Leader and Yosemite Institute Program Leader. She was involved in writing several grants bringing technology to students and has workshops in Earthquake Safety and Geology. Ms. Steinert came to Sylmar High School as the Magnet School Coordinator in 1994.

Ms. Steinert has two children, Jeremy, 13 and Ariana 10. She enjoys snow skiing, hiking, rock climbing, camping, sewing and geology. She is a member of several science teachers' organizations and is active with her kid's scout groups.

Paul Del Rosario - Assistant Principal Mr. Del Rosario is a native of Los Angeles. He is a product of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Upon graduation from Hamilton High School, he attended the University of Southern California where he earned a B.S. degree in Biology. He holds Masters Degrees in School Counseling and School Administration from CSULA.

His teaching career began at San Fernando Middle School in 1978 where he taught Science and Health. He then transferred to Berendo Middle School where he taught Science, Mathematics and Computers. At Berendo, Mr. Del Rosario was also a School Counselor, Science Department Chair and Bilingual Coordinator. He returned to the valley as the Assistant Principal of Counseling at Olive Vista Middle School in August of 1990 and came to Sylmar as Assistant Principal in October of 1994.