Leily Abbassi is from the San Francisco Bay Area and moved to San Diego in 2004. She graduated from the University of California, Davis with a degree in International Relations in 2003. She received her teaching credential from San Diego State University in 2005. She joined the High Tech village as a student teacher under Janie Griswold for a year. She taught 8th grade Humanities for three years and is currently enjoying her first year teaching seventh grade Humanities. She is in her second year in the Teacher Leadership master\\\\\\\'s program through the HTH Graduate School of Education. In her spare time (hah) she enjoys traveling, reading,  the beach, and visiting her family and friends in San Francisco.

Andrea Barrett grew up in Falmouth, MA and ever since she can remember she wanted to be an art teacher. She attended The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Tufts University Collaborative program. Ms. Barrett received her Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts in 2002 and her Master’s Degree in Art Education in 2004. Ms. Barrett moved from Boston to San Diego to get away from the snow and humidity, and continue living by the ocean. This is her fifth year teaching at High Tech Middle School and her fourth year teaching art.

Miss Costa is originally from Baltimore, Maryland where she studied at the University of Maryland and graduated with a degree in Environmental Science. Before life at High Tech Middle, Miss Costa worked for the Orange County Department of Education Outdoor Science School for two years as a naturalist. Miss Costa enjoys traveling and has spent time studying in Hawaii, living in Australia and spent this summer studying Spanish in Mexico. When not in the classroom you can find Miss Costa enjoying the outdoors, riding her bike, painting or practicing her Spanish. This will be Miss. Costa's fourth year teaching 6th grade math and science at HTM.

Sean Curran was born and raised in Pennsylvania, but grew up mostly in a town outside Albany, New York. He graduated from the Pennsylvania State University and earned a degree in Secondary Education with a concentration in Social Studies and a minor in History. After college, Sean returned home to New York where he taught 8th Grade U.S. History for two years at a middle school in Saratoga Springs.Today, Sean Curran has made the cross country trek to the always sunny San Diego, California and is thrilled to be teaching 8th Grade Humanities at High Tech Middle. When not in the classroom, Sean can be found coaching and playing lacrosse, hiking and camping in the mountains, getting radical on his BMX bike, or practicing his new love of surfing.

Melissa Daniels comes to High Tech Middle from seven years of teaching at international schools in Cairo, Egypt and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. While overseas, Ms. Melissa was fortunate enough to travel to many fascinating places. Some of her most memorable experiences include swimming with pink dolphins in the Amazon, cruising down the Nile River, snorkeling in the Red Sea, trekking the hills of Thailand, and horseback riding in the Chilean Andes. Originally from North Carolina, Ms. Melissa earned her B.A. in English Education from UNC-Chapel Hill, and she recently completed her M.Ed in Teaching English as a Second Language. When not in the classroom, Ms. Melissa enjoys traveling, running, reading, hanging out at the beach, and watching basketball games featuring her beloved UNC Tar Heels.

DeAnna Driscoll is honored to have been running the drama department at HTM since the school opened in 2003. Ms. DeAnna grew up in Colorado's Apen Valley and went on to New York City where she graduated with honors from the National Shakespeare Conservatory. After acting in professional productions around the country she eventually ended up in San Diego. DeAnna is a proud member of both the Screen Actors Guild and Actors Equity Association. She enjoys working on stage and in film and television when she is not enjoying her time with her students at HTM. She loves live music, museums, cooking, hiking and most of all spending time with her 10 year old daughter

Jennie Ganesan is thrilled to be back at  High Tech Middle for her second year. She earned her BA in History and Secondary Education at Hofstra University in NY. Jennie received her NY & NJ teaching credentials and has taught for six years in NYC, Long Island, & NJ public schools. After getting married in 2004, Jennie & her husband decided to venture out to the West Coast and are loving every minute of their new lives in San Diego. When she\'s not teaching, Jennie is usually running after her twins Ava & Vik and spending time with her husband. She also loves to travel, visit museums, and be at the beach. Some of Jennie\'s favorite places to visit are Belize, India, Singapore, and her family back east.

Janie Griswold has worked at the High Tech Village since High Tech High opened in fall of 2000. Janie graduated from the University of Puget Sound with a bachelor's degree in history and a minor in biology. She then attended the University of Washington where student taught 7th grade and earned a master's degree in teaching. Janie and her husband Ryan have lived in San Diego since 2000. She taught humanities at HTH for three years and then (eager to get back to middle school) moved to HTM when it opened in 2003. When not at school, Janie enjoys camping in Baja, visiting her family in the Pacific Northwest, going to the beach by her house in OB, reading, cooking, training for sprint triathlons, and just spending time with friends and family, especially her son, Neal, who was born in March, 2008.

Bryan was born on the east coast in New Haven, CT. He attended Indiana University and Southern Connecticut State University and earned a degree in Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics. Bryan has worked as a computer programmer and also managed a landscaping company before moving towards a career in teaching. When not working he enjoys spending time with his fiancée Elizabeth and their cat Simon, running, biking climbing rocks and playing chess and Go.

Mrs. Carrie Interlandi (aka Ms. I) is a SoCal native, born in Orange, CA. She lived in Reno, NV, for most of her childhood, where she grew up being a competitive gymnast. She earned a BA in English with an emphasis in Teaching and Creative Writing from UC Davis in 1995. She also received her MA in Education, Secondary Curriculum and Instruction, in 2001 from SDSU, and is proud to be a National Board Certified Teacher in Early Adolescent English Language Arts. Ms. I spent 7 years teaching 7th and 8th grade humanities and English at Clark Middle School in San Diego before coming to join the HTH community in 2006. When she's not working, Ms. Interlandi loves hanging out with her family, which includes her husband, five-year-old Joey, almost two-year-old Anthony, and her pitt bull, Diva.  She also loves reading historical fiction (especially about Henry VIII!), rollerblading, riding her bike, and hanging out at the beach and the zoo.

Originally from San Diego, Ben received his bachelor's degree from San Diego State University in business and marketing.  After graduating, he packed up and moved to Chicago to work in broadcast media.  While there he started performing stand-up comedy and studied comedic writing at Second City Theater.  After realizing that he was missing the human interaction and growth that he wanted from his career choice, he switched paths and moved back to California to pursue teaching.  He attended San Francisco State's teacher credentialing program and subsequently taught 6th and 7th grade math and science in city schools.  There he was introduced to the challenges of teaching and the rewards of working to build a strong classroom community.  Most recently Ben had the opportunity to move back to San Diego to work in a teacher credentialing program while pursuing his Masters in Education.  While not teaching Ben loves playing guitar in three different bands, reading about science, playing soccer, and riding his bike.  He hopes to help instill in his students a love of learning as well as a connection with all living things around them.

Karina Morales is the Spanish teacher at HTM. She was born and raised in Tijuana, Mexico. She moved to San Diego a little over 7 years ago and attended San Diego State University where she received a BA in Spanish as a Single Subject and a Minor in Psychology. She has spent time living and studying in Madrid, Spain, as well in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This is her second year at HTM and she is very excited to share her knowledge and passion for Spanish. Some of her biggest passions besides teaching are traveling, exploring other cultures, visiting her family and friends and buying shoes!

In an interesting turn of events, Gabe Ogilvie found himself at High Tech Middle School after attending the Brooks Institue of Film in Ventura, California. He brings his love of film to HTM in conjuncture with tutoring, ASB, Yearbook, and After School Programming. In addition to his day to day events, he also continues with his passion for film as he travels from LA, to Frisco, to Florida pursuing his list of goals in the field of movies.

Lisa brings over 20 years of experience from a variety of Education related positions. This is her fourth school year at High Tech Middle. Before life at HTM, she worked in the Human Resource Services Division of San Diego Unified School District concentrating on Middle School staffing. Lisa is a native San Diegan, attended San Diego City Schools and graduated from Madison High. She went on to San Diego State University to pursue a degree in Liberal Studies, with the desire to become an elementary school teacher.  In her spare time she enjoys reading, gardening, swimming, traveling (most recently to Paris) and cheering on our hometown football team - GO CHARGERS!!!  Most importantly, spending time with her husband, two daughters, family and friends keep her busy and smiling  ~ Life is good !

Casey Salmon has taught at a variety of grade levels over the past ten years. After graduating from Westmont College, she moved to Houston, Texas where she taught third grade for two years with a program called Teach for America. Those two years were eye-opening and completely changed her views on education. She became passionate about ensuring that all students had an equal opportunity to be successful. Missing California, Casey moved to San Diego in the summer of 2002. She spent a year working at a small, private school in North County, where she taught English to 6th-9th graders, who needed more individual attention and smaller classroom sizes than their neighborhood schools could provide.  Through this experience she was inspired to return to school to learn more about how to meet the needs of students with learning challenges. She received her Education Specialist credential from San Diego State University in 2005, and completed her M. Ed in Special Education from Point Loma Nazarene University in 2007. This will be Casey’s seventh school year working as the resource specialist at High Tech Middle. She truly loves her job and feels very lucky to have the opportunity to work with such amazing teachers and students. For fun she enjoys going to the beach, training for triathlons, reading, playing with her dog Zephyr, scuba diving, traveling and cooking.

Bobby Shaddox graduated from SDSU with a degree in graphic design. He worked professionally as a designer for 5 years until his life took a wonderful turn. In 2004, he moved to Mexico and taught English at the University of Guanajuato, while taking Spanish language classes. After an amazing year learning to speak Spanish and teach English, Bobby realized that his life\'s passion was education. He moved back to San Diego in 2006 and worked at King Chavez Academies while earning his teaching credential. This will be Bobby\'s third year at High Tech Middle. After spending a month in Greece and Turkey this summer, Bobby can\'t wait to get students excited about the mythology and history of Ancient Greece!

 

Since moving to San Diego I have begun to surf. I’m still not great and could use some pointers. If you are ever out surfing in Mission Beach or OB, let me know. I love biking all over town and exercising. I have also been introduced to Bikram Yoga which I enjoy for is seriously kicking my butt! 

Sarah Strong is entering her third year teaching sixth grade at High Tech Middle. Raised in the SF Bay Area, Mrs. Strong moved to San Diego in 2001 to attend college. She graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University in 2005 with her BS in Mathematics. She went on to get her teaching credential from PLNU as well. She is a member of the inaugural cohort of the Teacher Leadership Program in the High Tech High Graduate School of Education and this year she will be writing her thesis on the use of open-ended math problems! Mrs. Strong loves the beautiful outdoors and one of her favorite places is Yosemite where she goes every summer. She also loves running and has competed in three marathons! This summer Mrs. Strong celebrated her two-year anniversary with her husband, Mike, who teaches seventh grade at HTMMA. They are very happy to be a part of the High Tech Village and can sometimes be seen after school coaching and running with the High School Cross Country athletes!

After completing his Bachelors and Masters degree at the University of Los Angeles, Azul Terronez began his career in education in inner city Los Angeles teaching in a 6th grade bilingual/ESL classroom. He taught for 5 years, Humanities, Reading and U.S. History. He served as assistant principal at middle schools in Los Angeles and Texas and as a high school grade level principal. He was the principal of Hopewell Middle School in Round Rock ISD, where he took the school from near unacceptable to Recognized. He worked as an Associate Programs Officer for the Texas High School Project and served as a consultant for New Technology Foundation. He is passionate about school climate and worked with several groups nationally with the Boomerang Project and Learning For Living, Inc. training counselors, teachers and principals on how to transform their schools. He has also consulted with several districts on how to build capacity in the schools. He has served as the Curator of Media for the Southwest Museum in Highland Park, California, the Director of the Nosotros Youth Theater in Hollywood, and was the Theatrical Director for Cat skills West in Beverly Hills. He was recently awarded the honor by the Texas Congress of Parents and Teachers, Honorary Life Membership. Azul has been with the High Tech High Family in several capacities since 2005, Regional Director in Austin, 6th Grade teacher and Director at HTMMA. He is passionate about reading and learning currently on the faculty for the HTH Graduate School of Education. When Azul is not teaching he loves to spend time with his son Josiah, daughter Sklyar and their dog Scooter.

Dan Thoene has been with High Tech Middle since its inception in 2003. He graduated from UCSB in 1992 with a major in communications and a minor in mathematics. Dan actually started his professional career in broadcasting, working as a sportscaster for 11 years. After winning an emmy in 2001, Dan decided to switch careers to his true love; teaching. He grabbed his multiple subject credential at SDSU, along with a single subject credential in mathematics. His wife Kira is also a teacher, in Poway. They've been married for 11 years and have two children; a 6 year old daughter named Courtney, and a 3 year old son named Cooper.

Michael Vasquez escaped the climate extremes of his hometown desert, California City, in order to follow his love of running and biology in San Diego. It was at UCSD where he earned his degree in Biology: Ecology, Behavior and Evolution and where he developed a greater appreciation for nature. The latter was mostly the result of learning and applying Leave No Trace practices while leading kayaking courses in Baja California, Mexico and backpacking courses in the Sierra Nevada. In his free time Michael enjoys taking his dog Larry to the dog park, riding his bike, and finding ways to reduce, reuse and recycle.