San Francisco's best educators (well, some of them)

September 30, 1:37 PMSF Education ExaminerCaroline Grannan

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Ms. Frizzle has competition.

All the Examiners are working on a joint project today and tomorrow: creating "Best of" lists in our own categories. So I put out a call in as many channels as I could asking for "best teachers," and decided to use all of them -- plus some principals and other school treasures. My criteria are: In San Francisco, past or present, public or private.

It's a joy to see all this praise rolling into my inbox for educators, who are too one of the most maligned groups in our society, blamed and bashed for every ill in the world. (But when are these people going to eliminate crime, cure cancer and end war and world hunger, anyway?) 

A disclaimer: With all these names, I'm not checking spellings or current status; I haven't not confirmed whether each one is retired or has passed away. This list does not include my own submissions, except for a special mention of the late Dennis Tamura at the end.

I'll run a follow-up list and more if I get more names -- keep 'em coming. Here's the first round, in alphabetical order.

Russell Addiego, Aptos Middle School, language arts/social studies: “Makes history come alive in his classroom.”

Kathy Angus, Creative Arts Charter School, 5th grade: “Brings a remarkable balance of wisdom, compassion, certainty, reflection and intelligence to her classes.”

Linda Blum, Presidio Child Development Center, paraprofessional: “Instead of looking at (her students’) disabilities, Linda makes their abilities blossom and bloom (no pun intended).”

Robert Braunreiter, Lowell High School, German (in the 1960s; retired):  Mr. Braunreiter had us read a German language short story and write an original report on the story in German twice per month. I learned more about world literature, albeit German literature, in his class than in my world literature class.

Melissa Breen, Moscone Elementary, 2nd grade: “Manages to teach to every kid in the class, regardless of ability or the byzantine California standards; anyone in the class knows that she adores her kids just as much as they adore her.”

Keith Carames, School of the Arts (SOTA), English and health: “inspirational.”

Bruce Cohen, Lowell, math: “A math teacher who goes more than the extra mile for his students.”

Mithril Cox, Argonne Elementary, 3rd grade: “An AMAZINGLY creative teacher who challenges her kids and makes them laugh at the same time.”

Peggy Cullinan, Commodore Sloat Elementary, kindergarten (retired): “There were parents who offered to contribute $1,000 to get a place in her class.”

Christine Fitzpatrick, Francis Scott Key Elementary, inclusion teacher: “Creative, positive and supportive.”

Patricia Gray, Principal, Balboa High School: “A rock star principal who led the turnaround of what has become an SFUSD success story.”

Dan Holt, West Portal Lutheran, social studies

Hanna Huang, Miraloma Elementary, 1st grade: "She is kind, patient, and thoughtful. She is one of the favored teachers at Miraloma and anyone who gets her is blessed."

Talat Jabbar, Miraloma, 2nd-3rd grades: “She makes it easy for kids to work hard.”

Fred Jacobs, West Portal Lutheran, German

Kay Kirman, Miraloma, 4th-5th grades: “She was very enthusiastic about learning and liked us to have creative ideas about everything.”

Patricia Kudritzki, Aptos, math and science: “Science is cool with Ms. K!”

Lily Lee, Francis Scott Key, kindergarten: “Her kindness and compassion make her one of the greatest teachers I’ve ever met.”

Ericka Lovrin, Principal, Washington High School: “She’s a dynamo.”

Elvia Marta, SOTA, Dance department head

Rich Mertes, Lakeshore Elementary, 4th grade: “Deeply influenced the way my sons see the natural world and their place in it.”

Les Morris, West Portal Lutheran, 7th-8th-grade English: “Marvelous, intuitive, knowledgeable and committed … and funny too!”

Andy Padlo, SOTA, Russian: "Gotta love a teacher who assigns his students to ride the 38-Geary, sit down next to an old Russian lady and practice talking to her."

Ronald Pang, Principal, Lincoln High School: “He understands, works with and cares for the students, but does not coddle them. He has high expectations and holds them to these standards.”

Andrea Peterson, Argonne, 2nd grade: “Exactly the right mix of coddling and challenge.”

Ruth Radetsky, Balboa: “She does whatever it takes to help her students understand statistics, especially the ones who thought an AP class would be too hard.”

Janice Riley, Commodore Sloat: “The teacher you hope your child will get sometime in her elementary career.”

Kelly Roja, community liaison, Aptos: "All things to all people."

The late Sylvia Sanders, Commodore Sloat: “Hands-down the most beloved teacher ever at Commodore Sloat.”

Steve Schmidt, Lowell, U.S. History: “This guy does it all”

Richard Shapiro, Lowell: “The Mr. Wizard of Lowell.”

Carol Siddle, Commodore Sloat: “Hardly bigger than a first-grader herself, but she makes learning to read so much fun!”

Jan Spillane, St. Paul’s School, 2nd grade (retired): “She made it really easy to learn. She was funny and forgiving when she found out I copied my math problems from the boy sitting next to me. She told me that at least I should have copied from someone who had the right answers.”

Eric Walker, Balboa: “Fired up my daughter's passion for history and current events and got her thinking critically -- passionately -- about the way the world and her government work.”

Paul Yonemura, Hoover Middle School, Band: “His dedication to his students, depth of musical knowledge and enthusiasm encouraged my sons to pursue music with passion and joy.”

Sharon Yow, Alamo Elementary, kindergarten: “40 years of spreading love. Oh, also the ABC’s and 123’s.”

Special mention: A veteran school bus driver named three school staffers whose full names and titles he wasn’t sure of -- perhaps playground supervisors:

Mr. Wingfield, Cobb Elementary, “a rare individual”
Mario, E.R. Taylor Elementary
Howard, formerly at Spring Valley Elementary
“More so than any one teacher or sometimes the principal, they know almost every student by name and something about them... and the kids all know them. … Not all schools fund this position… but schools who can fund a full time position and get a Mario or Mr. Wingfield, people who stay at the school for a looooong time, are making a wise decision.”

In this category I also want to pay tribute to the late, beloved Dennis Tamura, who filled those roles and many others at Lakeshore Elementary until his tragic death.