PATHS to

Since I attended Nueva from kindergarten through eighth grade, Nueva has always been a home away from home. There’s a special bond that I feel towards my fellow “Waves” (dating back to the pre-Maverick days) and I’m so thrilled to have started my second chapter in this community. Nueva nurtured my curiosity and love for trying new things and I truly believe that I wouldn’t be the creative learner who I am today if I hadn’t gone to Nueva. I feel so lucky that I received the education that I did and am excited to perpetuate that experience to others.

In launching our online directory, we asked teachers and staff the question: HOW

DID YOU GET TO NUEVA?

Here are a few of their answers.

I got to Nueva by car, across the desert, with two angsty cats. I was teaching in Austin, TX, before I came to Nueva, and I was ready to get back to the West Coast. Nueva reminded me of everything I love about teaching and learning, so I knew I wanted to be part of this community.

IHMAR

ALDANA

Upper School Math Teacher

I come from a US territory across the Pacific—the island of Guam, to be exact. After five years of teaching in the public school system back home, I decided it was time to explore other opportunities in the mainland. I have always loved the Bay Area and visited a few times to visit friends and family. Luckily, I stumbled upon this math teacher opening at Nueva and applied. That is how I got here.

CHRIS SCOTT

upper school Japanese teacher

My maternal grandparents were both teachers— in fact, my grandmother was my second grade teacher—so teaching is in my blood. After receiving my Ph.D. in Japanese literature from Stanford University in 2006, I taught Japanese language and cultural studies at Macalester College in St. Paul, MN, for six years before returning to San Francisco to become a freelance translator. When a job opened up at Nueva in 2014 to build the Japanese program at the new upper school, I knew it was time to return to my roots as a teacher. I’ve been here happily ever since.

COLIN TRIBBLE middle school humanities teacher

My journey at Nueva started many years ago when I joined as a student in preK! In a sense then, I didn’t find Nueva, but Nueva found me. My years attending the school as a student were some of the most joyful years of my education. I relished the freedom, the strong relationships with teachers, and of course our amazing trips and curriculum. When I took on the mantle of educator, it was an easy decision about which school I wanted to teach at. Because I had been so happy at Nueva, I wanted to learn how to make that happen for others.

RASHIDA BLADE kindergarten teacher

After leaving a career in accounting, I decided to get back into education. While substitute teaching, I came across Nueva and began working in the middle school. I was captivated by the environment and non-traditional education style. After some time, students began to ask me why I didn’t just work full time at Nueva, and when some of our Black students mentioned how they don’t see enough teachers who “look like them,” I decided to apply for a position. I’ve been here ever since!

EMILY MITCHELL first grade teacher

My journey to Nueva felt incredibly serendipitous as I had recently moved to the Bay Area and was looking to make a career change. I lost someone very special to me around this same time...and her dream was to be a teacher. As a way of honoring her legacy and connecting to my greatest passion—learning—I knew that teaching was my true calling. I arrived at Nueva and immediately felt like I had found my home. I can’t imagine being anywhere else. I truly believe that life works in mysterious ways. Teaching is what I am meant to do.

Hillsborough

I followed my kids to Nueva in the late 1980s, working in the library for four hours two afternoons a week for six months— and never left!