Susannah Bell teaches Freshman Seminar English and American
Literature, as well as AP English Language and Composition. Susannah earned her undergraduate degree in English Education from Florida State University and then a graduate degree in English Literature from San Francisco State University. She has been at BHS for eight years. Before that she taught at a high school in Gainesville, Florida and ran a dropout retrieval program. Susannah’s philosophy of education is that every child has something to bring to the educational experience to make it meaningful for him or her and to enrich it for all the rest of us. Susannah puts a high priority on student organization and gets really excited when students demonstrate their maturity.

Ms Bell's awards and achievements include Loften High School Teacher of the Year; service-learning program that placed first nationally; twice nominated USA Today All American English Educator.

Contact Susannah:
sbell@berkeley.k12.ca.us

 Ms. Bell's Homework Page

Allen Boltz was a Navy brat. He was born in Jacksonville
Florida, spent time in Long Beach, Coronado and San Diego, California, before moving to Richmond, Virginia and then Fallon, Nevada. In 1988 he moved to the East Bay and attended high school in Alameda. He earned an A.A. degree from Chabot College in Hayward before attending Humboldt State University where he received a B.A. in Chemistry along with his teaching credential.

Allen worked with AmeriCorps in court and community schools as well as working directly with juvenile detention and foster youth services.

Allen spent one summer working at The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory testing stoves headed for refugee camps in Western Sudan as part of the Darfur Stoves Project. It wasn’t until he took a chemistry course in college that he discovered the amazing nature of science. Now, he likens the study science to eating ice cream. Allen is married with two children.

Contact Allen:
aeb48@humboldt.edu

Mr. Boltz's Homework Page

Matthew Bremer has embraced many roles at BHS, but these
days he an IMP math teacher, curriculum developer and an educator for beginning-experienced teachers. As recently as 2004, Mr. Bremer stood before the Berkeley School Board to discuss REAL, a program funded by the National Science Foundation, that was designed to change the face of mathematics at Berkeley High. He and his team designed a program of seminars for BHS math teachers that would create a departmental culture where staff was not only collaborating, but reflecting on the process that sought to make students more engaged. Today Mr. Bremer is teaching that dream in the calculus and IMP3 classes for CP Academy.

Mr. Bremer believes that students construct their own understanding of mathematics based on new experiences that increase their circle of understanding. It is through experience that new ideas can be created and he believes that math becomes useful to a student only when it has been successfully integrated into their personal life.

Mr. Bremer’s goal is to expose students to numerous and logically connected experiences that encourage them to value math, to develop math habits of mind, and to understand the role of math in the world. He believes students need to explore, to guess, and to make and correct errors so that they gain confidence in their ability to solve complex problems. He believes students deepen their understanding when they read, write, and discuss math. Through these interactions with their class community, they see themselves as mathematicians at work and enjoy what they are doing.

Mr. Bremer's awards and achievements include twice nominated USA Today All American Math Educator; co-developed the curriculum for the Integrated Math Project (IMP Math); Womens Golf Coach; 1996 Math Teacher of the Year Alameda Contra Costa County.

Contact Matt:
mbremer@berkeley.k12.ca.us

Mr. Bremer's Homework Page

Patrick Chamberlain hails from Houston, Texas. He has a
degree from Texas Tech and a teaching credential from Sonoma State. He is an avid outdoorsman who loves to hike. He has already walked 60% of the Pacific Coast Trail!

Contact Patrick:
pchamberlain@berkeley.k12.ca.us

Bio to come

Contact Wyn:
wskeels@berkeley.k12.ca.us

Mr. Skeels' Homework Page

Jaime Knight teaches art in CP Academy. He received his B.F.A.
in Studio Art from the University of New Mexico and his M.A. in Art Education from San Francisco State University. He’s been teaching at Berkeley High for five years, including his student teaching. In addition to Berkeley High, his teaching experiences include teaching at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SF MoMA) and Southern Exposure (SoEx), a nonprofit gallery in San Francisco. Jaime loves to travel and his extensive travels have included several summers spent in El Salvador teaching community art classes and doing collaborative art projects. Before Jaime began teaching, he worked as a cook in a small breakfast cafe and managed a scooter shop in San Francisco to support himself while working as an artist and musician, playing and recording music, booking and hosting live music shows, and traveling on tour in different bands.

Jaime’s philosophy of teaching is to give students an experience of the transforming nature of art making in a safe, respectful and humanistic community. He challenges his students to push the limits of their creativity and physical abilities while having fun and learning about themselves and the world around them through artistic processes. He holds his students and himself to the same high standards.

Mr. Knight did service-learning in El Salvador from 2004 through 2006, and runs the Teens Visionaries after-school art program.

Contact Jaime:
jknight@berkeley.k12.ca.us

Mr. Knight's Homework Page

Melissa Poblete - I am from the East Coast, born in Illinois
(I know, that's not the East Coast.), but raised in Florida, where I went to undergraduate and graduate school. After graduating from the University of Florida with an M.A. in modern European history, I lived in Japan for two years where I taught English as a second language in a town of 3,000 (Yes, that's smaller than the student population at Berkeley High.). When I returned to the U.S., I moved to San Diego to be close to my family, but the Bay Area called, and I answered by moving here two years ago. I've been a teacher in the U.S.for six years, teaching mostly English and U.S. history at the high school level. When I'm not dancing contemporary dance, breathing in yoga, or reading in a cafe, I'm traveling to far off and distant lands to experience the things books provocatively imagine.

Contact Melissa:
Melissa_Poblete@berkeley.k12.ca.us

Ms. Poblete's Homework Page

Gideon Goldman grew up in Berkeley and graduated from Berkeley High before
going to UCLA to get a degree in Mechanical Engineering.  From there he
joined Teach For America and taught junior high school math in New Orleans for four years.  He returned to Berkeley to get a Master's in Public Policy at Cal, then worked for a year at MPR, a local education and research firm.  He then returned to the classroom in Piedmont, teaching middle school math there for seven years before coming to Berkeley High six years ago.
This is his second year in CP Academy, and he teaches IMP and AP Statistics.

Gideon is an avid music fan, particularly jazz, and plays saxophone in a jazz band that performs a couple of times a month in the East Bay. 

Contact Gideon:
ggoldman@berkeley.k12.ca.us

Mr. Goldman's Homework Page

James Dopman teaches 9th grade Community and Ethnic Studies and 11th grade U.S. History.  He is also teaching the Community Service Professions class this year.  Mr. Dopman is originally from many places. Born in Clearwater, FL., his family left the warm weather when he was five for a small town 100 miles west of Chicago. In the middle of his sophomore year, he moved again, this time to Dallas. He has called the Bay Area home since 1995. Mr. Dopman received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Texas A & M University, where he also earned a double minor in History and Sociology. Before entering graduate school, Mr. Dopman worked for an executive recruiting firm for 3 years until he revisited his goal of becoming a teacher. Tutoring at BHS was the turning point for Mr.Dopman and a year later he was accepted to the Mills College graduate school program. After student teaching at BHS, Mr. Dopman graduated with a Master's degree in Education and then returned to BHS this time to begin his teaching career. Mr. Dopman loves to run, cook, travel and is addicted to news and current events. James is now a parent with two young children.

What is Mr. Dopman's philosophy about teaching?
He believes every child, deep in their heart, wants to succeed and that it is a teacher's job to tap into that desire with a relevant curriculum.

Wish List: Mr. Dopman would like all parents and students to receive timely feedback by completing a “Stay in Touch" form.

Mr Dopman is on the BHS Staff Development Committee, and was Co-Chair of the History Department 2004/2005.

Contact James:
jdopman@berkeley.k12.ca.us

Mr. Dopman's Homework Page

Annie Johnston is coordinator of the CP Academy.  She also teaches social studies -- Economics, Government and Berkeley Experiential Senior Transition (BEST) in 2010-2011.  Annie started her undergraduate degree at UC Santa Cruz and continued her education through several city colleges,
completing her degree at the age of 34 at New College of California.  She received her teaching credential from San Francisco State University and her Masters Degree and administrative credentials from UC Berkeley.  She
is currently enrolled in the Leadership in Educatioal Equity Program (LEEP) at UC Berkeley working on her doctoral degree in education. 

Annie is the perfect person to work with students on career choices because her own career experiences is extensive.  Her previous careers have included early childhood education teacher, electronic technician, secretary, stripper in the printing industry, graphic designer, and editor.  On the side she teaches martial arts and self defense and has worked as a political activist to support liberation movements in African
and Central America as well as movements for social justice and equity here in the U.S.

Annie's philosophy of teaching is strongly influenced by Paolo Freire, a Brazilian educator who believed that education should empower people to affect their reality to make positive changes.  Annie says that schools have historically recreated social inequities and that it takes a conscious, creative and collaborative effort to turn them instead into places that challenge inequity.  She believes that schools should be part
of the communities they serve, places where people can access information and skills to unlock their individual potential and contribute to improving the life of the community.  "Teaching and raising children takes a whole village," Annie says.  "Each young person has many teachers in school, in the community, in the family.  The more we communicate and work together, the better all of us will do at preparing the next generation to
make a difference.  In the process, we are all learners, and we all have things to teach."

Ms. Johnston's honors include U.C. Berkeley fellow, Principal Leadership Institute; Bay Area Writing Project Fellow; Past Chair, BHS History Department.

Contact Annie:
ajohnston@berkeley.k12.ca.us

Cell Phone: (510) 612-0404

Ms. Johnston's Homework Page

My name is Susi Lopez-Platt. I was born and raised in Mexico and came to the United States at the age of 22. I attended Cal State Fullerton and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Comparative Literature in 2002 and with  Master's degree in Education in 2007. Having an opportunity to get an education has been my American dream come true. It has allowed me to
meet wonderful people, learn precious and unimaginable things about the world, and live a meaningful and fulfilling life. I am proud to be a teacher and I am delighted to be a part of Berkeley High School.

slopezplatt@berkeley.k12.ca.us

Ms. Lopez's Homework Page

Laurie Rodney received her graduate degree in English from
John Carroll University, and has taught for over six years in a variety of settings in Ohio and Virginia.  She also spent five years as a Regional Director for Facing History and Ourselves in Cleveland, Ohio, and worked with International Partners

in Mission as the Director of Education and Outreach.  In this role, she took groups of students and adults to schools in remote villages of Tanzania,
El Salvador, and India.  It was these experiences that led her back to her passion, teaching.

Laurie believes everyone has unique gifts, and that individuals have the power to use these gifts to change the world.  As an educator, she strives o provide the tools, resources, and experiences for students to find heir personal strengths and explore ways to use them to the benefit of umanity, using the lens of great literature, through writing, and articipating in critical engaging discourse. Laurie works with students
to develop personal responsibility and take charge of their learning.  She elieves parents are partners in the education process and welcomes parent
input and communication.

Contact Laurie 
Laurie_Rodney@berkeley.k12.ca.us

Ms. Rodney's Homework Page

Each public school child who receives special education and
related services must have an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Each IEP must be designed for one student and must be a truly individualized document. The IEP creates an opportunity for teachers, parents, school administrators, related services personnel, and students (when appropriate) to work together to improve educational results for children with disabilities. The IEP is the cornerstone of a quality education for each child with a disability.

Dave Stevens is the cornerstone of CPA's Individualized Education Program. He has a BS in Biology from Marquette University with an MA in Transitional Programming from George Washington University. His honors include being a Berkeley Public Education Foundation Distinguished Educator and having National Board Certification in 2000.

Contact Dave:
dstevens@berkeley.k12.ca.us

Dwayne Byndloss

was born and raised in East Oakland.  He
graduated from Castlemont High School and went directly to San Francisco State University (SFSU). At SFSU, Mr. Byndloss earned degrees in Mechanical Engineering and African Studies with a behavioral and social science concentration.

Mr. Byndloss attended California State University, East Bay for graduate school. He earned a Masters degree in Counseling with a dual emphasis in school counseling and marriage and family therapy. Mr. Byndloss also earned a Pupil Personal Services (PPS) certification.

Mr. Byndloss began working with youth part-time as an undergraduate student. He started with the Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) program as a tutor at Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkeley, California; and quickly became in charge of an entire site at Willard Middle School in Berkeley, California.

While working at Willard Mr. Byndloss accepted a full-time counselor position for African American at-risk youth with Berkeley Asian Youth Center's (EBAYC) multicultural Real Alternative Project, currently known as the RISE Project, a community based non-profit youth development agency. Mr. Byndloss served youth and their families through this program as a counselor and education director for 12 years in Berkeley and Oakland, California.

After earning his Masters degree Mr. Byndloss began working as an academic counselor for Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) at Oakland High School and Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) at Longfellow Middle School.

Mr. Byndloss's philosophy to counseling:

1. One of the best ways to help youth is by helping their parents.
2. Youth that have identified their gift to the world (career exploration and identification) are more resilient.
3. Advocating for institutional and societal change is just as important as fostering change in youth on and individualized level.
4. Youth perform better when they have developed relationships with caring adults.
5. Students' emotional and physical needs must also be met in order for them to excel to their full potential (Whole Child Theory).
6. An accurate understanding of one's own history and the history of others is crucial in terms of character development and critical thinking. (Psycho-Educational Approach).

• National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Member of the Year 1996, 1997
• 5 year Community Service Reward EBAYC's Real Alternative Project (1995)
• 10 Year Community Service Reward EBAYC'S Higher Learning Project (2000)
• GEAR UP Top Parent Institute in the State 2004, 2005
  

Contact Dwayne:
dbyndloss@berkeley.k12.ca.us