Ygnacio Valley, Olympic high educators county finalists for Teachers of the Year

Mt. Diablo Unified School District is once again reveling in having its teachers recognized for excellence as both Joseph Alvarico of Ygnacio Valley High School and Danya Townsend of Olympic High are named among the four finalists for 2023-24 Contra Costa County Teacher of the Year.

The announcement was made Monday after Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools Lynn Mackey made surprise visits to the teacher’s Concord classrooms to reveal that they were among four finalists. There were 21 District Teachers of the Year from the

Concord goes back to the drawing board third time for CNWS master developer

Learning from past mistakes. Regaining the public trust. And, perhaps most importantly, avoiding that third strike.

That’s what the City Council hopes to accomplish as they select a new master developer for the former Concord Naval Weapons Station.

To that end, Guy Bjerke, director of development and base reuse, obtained preliminary feedback from the council last month in order to refine the questions they will ask perspective developers.

“What is important in this third attempt is that we find a consensus both on the dais amongst the council and amongst the broader community. That we not only have consensus but that we have some unanimity on how we’re moving forward – some level of trust with whom we’re moving forward with,” Bjerke said.

18 school districts in the county under consideration for the selection of the final four.

The other two finalists are Annalouisa Gonzalez-Ortega (Liberty Union High School District) and Patricia Ogura (West Contra Costa Unified School District).

The two Contra Costa Teachers of the Year will be announced Sept. 21 in a ceremony at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek, where all District Teachers of the Year will be honored. Those two will then be entered in the State TOY competition. Natasha Paul of Mt. Diablo High was a 2022-23 Contra Costa County Teacher of the Year and her fellow MDHS teacher Katalina Gallo was also one of the four

County finalists. Alvarico and Townsend were selected to represent MDUSD from five district finalists that also include Shore Acres Elementary teacher

Miran Chung, Delta View Elementary’s Lisa Dippo and Veronica Leno Garcia from Cambridge Elementary. The finalists were selected from 50 outstanding educators nomi- nated throughout the district and recognized at a recent MDUSD School Board meeting. Both Alvarico and Townsend said they were honored to be chosen to represent the district and their schools. They are both described by colleagues and students as visionary educators with high expectations who help transform students’ lives by making learning relevant and meaningful and building strong relationships with them. Students say they feel comfortable speaking to both of them about personal issues, as well as academics.

Alvarico teaches engineer-

This effort comes after the city ended negotiations with Lennar/FivePoint in 2020 and parted ways with Concord First Partners (CFP) this January. Many in the community were angry that the council even considered the proposal from CFP, which included unpopular local developer Albert D. Seeno III.

“It was really taking advantage of the public trust to select a developer that everyone knew was not going to go over well. It’s made the public very hyper-sensitive and very hyper-aware,” 20-year resident Cora Mitchell said during public comment. “Do not disregard the power of the people in this process. They are ready. They are organized. And they are engaged.”

Members of the council were unanimous in stating they wanted any new proposal to include a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) – and that the

See CNWS, page 7