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Passionate Teachers, "Teaching the Way Children Learn"
Mulberry's 21st Century Teachers don't just give information, they orchestrate learning. They teach students to create knowledge from basic information and gain wisdom from that knowledge.
They challenge all students through differentiated instruction and incorporate individual instruction to maximize comprehension by students with a range of learning styles.
Bonnie Potenza, Toddler Teacher
Bonnie has a BS in Elementary Education from Springfield College in Massachusetts and previously worked in Madison, Wisonsin as a preschool teacher for four year olds. She has a passion for watching children grow, learn and build upon their own natural curiosities. Bonnie’s favorite moments while teaching are when she is singing and reading books to the children in her class. In her free time, Bonnie enjoys spending time with her husband, Mike, and their two children, Griffin (two years) and Natalie (four months). She also loves baking, working out when she can find the time, watching hockey, and traveling to New England to visit family and friends.
Leslie Barr, 2 & 3-day Preschool Teacher
Leslie has been a preschool teacher at Mulberry since September 1987. She started as 4-day teacher, then taught morning and afternoon 3-day programs and Thursday Adventures, and for the last 3 years, she has taught the 3-day class. She received her Masters in Human Development from Pacific Oaks College, a B.A. in French from George Washington University and her Children's Center Permit from San Jose City College and West Valley College.
Leslie uses a constructivist approach in teaching, where children's experiences build upon each other. Through play in a multi-sensory environment where they are allowed to make choices, children can take risks (without fear of failure) and experiment with process and materials. She sincerely believes social and emotional development is key to future success as contributing members of the human race!
Leslie loves reading, knitting, working out/hiking, cooking/baking, and, of course, children! She has two boys: Chris was a history major in college and now works as a personal trainer/posture therapist; Rob was a physics major who currently teaches physics AP and robotics at Bellarmine College Prep. Both boys went to preschool at Mulberry and Chris attended Kindergarten at Mulberry too.
Paula Ramos, 5 day Preschool & Student Support Teacher
Paula has been working at Mulberry in a variety of capacities. During her first three years, she worked with the Mulberry parents, co-teaching the T.E.A.M series ( a class that prepares parents for their participation at Mulberry). For the last 5 years, she has enjoyed teaching in the preschool. In addition, this past year, she accepted a position in student support, leading small groups in reading and writing. Paula began her career with a B.S. in Business Finance, minoring in economics. However, the birth of her first child ignited her passion for child development, leading her to further her education. She earned her ECE units and became certified to teach parent education for the YWCA community and social services. She earned a certificate for working with victims of domestic violence and received a part time Adult Education Credential. Recently Paula was recognized by her peers and the parents she teaches for her outstanding work with children and received the California Council of Parent Participation Nursery School's Teacher's Award.
Paula believes that children construct their knowledge from their interactions with the world around them. Her curriculum is designed for a child focused, play- based environment. She meets children where they are in their developmental process, and provides meaningful activities that they can grasp and take in. In addition, the low parent/child ratios in a co-op provide ample opportunities for one-on-one interactions that scaffold learning to the next level.
Paula currently lives in San Jose, with her husband, three teen age/young adult children, and pet dog. Her interests include exercise, continuing her education, and supporting her children in all the wonderful activities and endeavors in which they are involved.
Jennifer Lien Gonzalez, Junior Kindergarten
Jennifer has been involved both professionally and personally with Mulberry for the past four years. Her son, Santiago, is now in second grade and Jennifer has worked in the classroom both as a parent and as staff. Jennifer earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Education and Spanish from the University of Wisconsin. For many years, she resided in Madrid, Spain where she taught both children and adults. Returning to the U.S., Jennifer became involved in Vocational Rehabilitation, assisting injured men and women so they would be able to return to the workforce and seek gainful employment. She has also worked as a Crisis Counselor. Education being her first love, Jennifer has always taught and after teaching Spanish to last years kindergarten class, she knew she had found a home at Mulberry.
Jennifer’s hobbies include riding horses, hiking and singing with a worship group. Every year, her family travels to Spain to visit grandparents, aunts and uncles.
Denise Giotta, Kindergarten Teacher
Denise has been teaching for more than twenty years. She has spent many years working with infants and preschoolers in a variety of settings and has also worked with elementary age students. Denise received her Bachelors degree in Social Science with a concentration in Child Development from San Jose State University in 1987 and is working on completion of her K-12 credentials.
Denise, a well-respected parent educator, teaches parenting classes for Mulberry and other organizations. She lives in San Jose with her husband and three children who are all Mulberry alumni. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, reading, and going to the beach. She loves to teach and believes she learns as much from her students as they learn from her. "Teaching is a gift in so many ways and teaching at Mulberry is extra special. Mulberry is a place that honors the child and the learning process."
Rita Derose, 1st Grade Teacher
Rita earned her Masters degree in psychology (clinical and counseling) from California School for Professional Psychology and her Bachelors degree (major in psychology minor in sociology) from San Jose State University. She completed her credential coursework through National University. Her first teaching position was for the California School for Professional Psychology in statistics, and her second teaching position was for Mulberry as a substitute teacher before becoming the 1st grade teacher. Rita is a gifted teacher who understands the energy and enthusiasm first graders bring to the classroom. She believes strongly in helping every child hold on to their natural curiosity and love of learning.
Rita's volunteer passions have been in crisis counseling with Lifeline International (phone counseling for children in crisis), the YWCA, and the Council on Aging. She is also passionate about family and has a very close extended family with roots in New York, where she returns whenever possible. Rita loves both the coast and the city and would rather go out for a day trip anytime over cleaning house. She loves reading, theatre (especially musicals), walking along the beach, and exploring cities. Rita shares a home with her husband, Chuck, daughter, Nicki, her son, Adrian, and her mother, Barbara.
Jane Murphy, 2nd Grade Teacher
Jane Murphy is a master teacher who understands the absolute importance of teaching our children life skills for their current educational success and beyond. She has the ability to support the social and emotional aspects of her students while providing a solid academic curriculum. Jane truly has a gift for respecting each individual child and encourages them to understand themselves and embrace knowledge and the wonderful experiences that come along with learning. Jane graduated from Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education with a minor in Psychology. She has been teaching at Mulberry School for more than ten years. She has kept current through many instructional workshops and has a specialized Reading Endorsement. She has completed all Lindamood Bell Learning Processes workshops and is certified in Positive Discipline.
Prior to teaching at Mulberry School, Jane spent 15 years in the performing arts. She danced with the Robert Thomas Dancecenter in Ames, IA. and with the prestigious Maryland Youth Ballet Company. She now specialized in incorporating the visual arts and music appreciation within her curriculum. Jane is the mother of three busy children and a wonderful husband, Patrick. When not busy teaching, coaching her youngest son’s t-ball, or cheering for her eldest son’s baseball games, she is a graduate student earning her Masters Degree in Collaborative Leadership and Administration from San Jose State University. She also enjoys photography, traveling and considers herself quite the butterfly ‘scientist’. Jane inspires, encourages and shares with her students the importance and value of finding optimism and joy in whatever life brings their way.
Judy Quigley, 3rd Grade Teacher
Judy is a graduate of California State University at Chico and received her credentials from San Jose State in May 1987. She worked as a substitute teacher for the Santa Cruz County Office of Education. Judy began substituting at Mulberry in the 2nd/3rd grade classroom in 1988 and was subsequently hired later that year as the 2nd/3rd grade teacher.
As part of her statement of her educational philosophy, Judy believes "The classroom should be a safe and friendly environment where students can learn, share, have fun, excel and make mistakes without criticism. Additionally, the classroom is a wonderful place to laugh and build self-esteem. Students using all of their senses to increase their understanding of a concept and sharing their work creates a positive learning environment.
Jenny V. Sadler, 4th Grade Teacher
Jenny was born in England and taught at the high school level for 5 years. In 1975, she and her husband Brian moved to Sunnyvale where they had 2 sons, Robert and Richard. Robert came to Mulberry when it was just a preschool and his class pushed the school through 3rd grade. Richard came to Mulberry and his class pushed the school to include 4th and then 5th grades. Jenny was an involved parent at Mulberry and then began to aide in the 3rd grade where she stayed for 3 years before becoming the 4th grade teacher.
Jenny has loved horses forever and has extensive experience with showmanship including Trail, English Pleasure and Dressage. Jenny has many other hobbies including bee-keeping, spinning, weaving, quilt-making, knitting, sewing, cross-stitch, braided rug-making, watercolors, gardening, geology. She has been involved as a den leader in Cub Scouts and team mom for her son's ice hockey team. Jenny is a pet-lover and her menagerie has included cats, dog, English mice, English and American budgerigars, hermit crabs, fire-bellied toads, border collie, guinea pig, tropical fish, snakes, lizards and an Arabian horse.
Kara Riordan, 5th Grade Co-Teacher
Kara received her B.A. degree from San Jose State University and received credentials in Multiple Subjects and Instructional Leadership from National University. She has been teaching at Mulberry since 1993 in both 4th and 5th grades. Kara feels fortunate to be able to teach the way children learn at Mulberry. She feels strongly about being able to use a variety of approaches so that all learning styles are represented and respected in her classroom. She especially enjoys teaching science and math and has been teaching in conjunction with NASA's Jason Project for over 10 years. She values the relationship-based teaching and the parent participation that is integral to Mulberry's classroom community.
Kara's hobbies include hiking, reading, cycling, yoga and kickboxing. She enjoys spending time with her husband and 3 children and cherishes being a sister and friend. The ocean is her favorite refueling spot where she enjoys walking and tide-pooling.
Sarah St.John, 5th Grade Co-Teacher
Sarah co-teaches fifth grade, along with Kara Riordan. She has been at Mulberry for four years, as a kindergarten Aide, second grade Aide, third grade Aide, and a third grade Science teacher. Before Mulberry, Sarah taught fifth grade in the Sunnyvale School District for three years and first grade for a year. In addition, she taught Kindergarten in the San Jose Unified School District for one year.
Sarah earned her Bachelors of Arts in Liberal Studies with a minor in Early Childhood Education from California State University East Bay. She has a Multiple Subject California Teaching Credential and is C.L.A.D. certified.
Sarah's educational philosophy is as follows: she helps children reach their potential while developing a lifelong love of learning. She allows children to grow and develop at their own rate in all areas of development: emotional, physical, social, and intellectual. Sarah's hobbies include reading, hiking, biking, and spending time with her family and friends.
Chris Janke, P.E. Specialist
Chris Janke has a long history with Mulberry School. He attended Mulberry for Pre-School and Kindergarten. In high school, he helped in Mulberry summer camps. And his mom Leslie has been teaching Pre-School at Mulberry for over 20 years. Over the years, he has become very familiar with the Mulberry philosophy. After graduating with a BA in History from Loyola Marymount University, Chris pursued his passion for health and fitness. He became a certified personal trainer and began working at the YMCA in San Jose. It was there that he met his wife, who is herself very involved with kids, being the owner of a home daycare for toddlers. Chris believes that physical health is one of many important aspects of total health. Mental, spiritual, emotional, physical, and social health are all spokes on a wheel that create an overall healthy person. He runs a part-time business where he specializes in helping people restore their posture through corrective exercises that help people to eliminate chronic pain that they’ve had for years. In addition, he consults about proper nutrition and lifestyle.
Chris believes strongly in the Mulberry philosophy of educating the whole child. He uses physical education as a vehicle to teach other lessons and skills. He believes that although competition has its place, it is over-emphasized in our society. Therefore, many of his activities focus on self-exploration rather than external competition. Overall, Chris’ main goal is to get people (kids and their parents) excited about the benefits of being healthy. He likes to quote Zig Ziglar: “you don’t pay the price for good health; you enjoy the benefits of good health.” That’s what Mulberry PE is all about.
Maureen Driggs, Music Specialist
Maureen is a native of San Jose, Her first musical theater experience was with the San Jose Children's Musical Theater when she was 9. She was inspired by John Healy's desire to allow any child, regardless of innate talent, to work on their skills in an atmosphere of respect and friendship. She carried these ideals into her work as musical director with the Mulberry Afterschool Theater and the Theatrical Arts Academy. TAA worked in various elementary schools in the South Bay Area, producing 3-5 shows a year. She also works as a piano and vocal instructor specializing in beginning students. She directs choirs at Washington Open Elementary School as well as the Post Secondary program in Santa Clara County. She continues to do musical direction for Mulberry Elementary as well as Washington Open Elementary School.
Maureen attended UC Davis and has a BA in Zoology. She also studied costume design and while in college, she worked in show wardrobe at Marriotts's Great America. She designed and constructed costumes for SJCMT as well as Union High School, later becoming the wardrobe mistress for Gene Patrick Productions traveling across the US setting up Bugs Bunny shows at the Six Flags Amusement Parks. She is currently the wardrobe chief for the San Jose Opera.
Mary Katayama, Curriculum Specialist
Mary Katayama received her master’s in education and teaching credential from UCLA in 1991. She taught in public elementary schools for 14 years. For many years, she served as a workshop presenter for the California Reading and Literature Project. Mary currently teaches a reading and language arts course at the College of Education at San Jose State University.
Mary is excited to work at Mulberry as the curriculum specialist. She loves supporting teachers as they reflect on their teaching practices and make modifications to meet the needs of their students. Mary enjoys sharing her knowledge and experience to help the staff design and implement developmentally appropriate, effective, research-based teaching approaches. She is delighted to be a part of such a positive community that is committed to teaching children the way they learn so that they will become lifelong learners.
Mary has two amazing children and a wonderful husband. She loves to spend quality time with her family. In the summer, she enjoys camping, traveling, hiking, reading, and playing at the beach.