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SOLEDAD — The school year has begun, and that means new teachers have started at several Soledad schools, including Rose Ferrero and Jack Franscioni elementary schools.
One of the new teachers is Josanna Ponsi, a first and second grade combination teacher at Jack Franscioni Elementary. Ponsi joins the school after teaching kindergarten for six years, first grade for two years, fourth grade for two-and-a-half years as well as Spanish to sixth and eighth graders.
“I am looking forward to the opportunity to grow in my teaching practices with my first and second grade combination,” Ponsi said.
Ponsi has paired up her first and second grade students and started teaching two math and language arts lessons while integrating main concepts on her second day. She loves teaching all subjects but language arts is her favorite.
“I got my taste for teaching when I was a senior intern at North Monterey County High School,” she said. “I taught a unit in world cultures on Martin Luther.”
Ponsi worked in after-school care at Monterey Peninsula Unified School District, where she prepared lessons and activities for students. Following her time with that district, she attended San Jose State University and received her degree and teaching credential.
“I chose Soledad because it is part of my larger community,” Ponsi said. “I live in Salinas and my husband teaches at Soledad High School as an art and wrestling coach, and encouraged me to apply.”
Buckley Collins is a fifth-grade teacher at Rose Ferrero Elementary School. Collins has had a great couple of first days getting to know the students and is starting to find his rhythm with the students.
“I’ve always taught language arts and history before this and now I’m teaching math and science, and I’m really excited about that,” Collins said.
Collins became interested in teaching after having a few marketing internships, when his friend had worked for a school district. Collins’ friend would talk about the growth students would achieve.
“It always sounded like a really rewarding experience,” he said. “After I finished a couple of internships, I asked myself if I wanted to pursue marketing as a career or maybe a career that would have more impact with those around me.”
Collins made the choice to teach at Rose Ferrero because his wife teaches at Mary Chapa Academy in Greenfield, and he was leaning further to Rose Ferrero after speaking with the Principal Tommy Frank.
“I felt like him and I were on the same page with our philosophies, our approach to classroom management and our belief in the students,” Collins said.
Collins and Ponsi are two of the 38 new teachers hired by the Soledad Unified School District, making the district fully staffed.
