2016 All-Star Teacher finalist Sunny Cordoba

Share

Sunny Cordoba 
Advanced Math, Science & Technology
Carmel Mission's Junipero Serra School

I have been a teacher for 17 years, with the last nine at my current school, Junipero Serra School. I have been very lucky to find such a welcoming second home. I don’t know that I have ever felt so at home in a job and am so blessed to work with such a wonderful family.

I knew from an early age that I wanted to work with children when I became an adult. Experiences working with and tutoring children and later peers, along with strong, influential teachers all worked to shape my desire to help children in my future career. Initially, that took form in the desire to pursue a career in psychology and become a child psychologist. Nearing the end of my undergraduate work, I realized that teaching was where my future should be. I take extreme pleasure in guiding students towards success, while teaching them how to overcome the struggles they face along the way.

Upon graduating, I was hired at a K-6 private school in Southern California as an assistant teacher in several different classrooms. By the next school year, I was leading a class of 7th grade students in math and language arts. The majority of my experience at that school focused on teaching math to 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students in an environment where differentiation happened with every single student in every single class. I learned so much about how to approach different students with different methods of teaching. It was a great lesson in the fact that all students have the potential to learn, if you can just find the right way to teach them. My goal was to find a way for every single student not only to learn math, but to excel at it as well

When I moved to the Central Coast in 2007, I began working at Junipero Serra School as a math and science teacher. In my time here, I have taught math and science to students from 4th grade to 8th grade. Last year, I also began teaching technology classes to Kindergarten through 8th grade students. I love Junipero Serra School and it’s family-like atmosphere. Since coming to this school, I have felt loved and welcomed and endeavor to spread those feelings to my students.

I hold both myself and my students to high standards. When I work in the classroom, I approach it with the philosophy that everyone can be a success in my class - it’s just a matter of understanding how we can make that happen. I never like to let students give up and always strive to find the right approach for each student in any given situation. One of my greatest joys is seeing the “light bulb” go on for a student when he/she understands a new (or old) concept.

I work very hard to connect with my students on multiple levels, in an effort to build a rapport with them. In addition to trying to build their confidence in math, science, technology, or all three, I always like to try to build personal connections with my students. I don’t hesitate to share my love of Harry Potter or tie comic book heroes into unit plans. My hope is by sharing my experiences and life with my students I can help them to see different viewpoints in contrast to their own.

At Junipero Serra, I was also recently placed into the role of Technology Director. Along with my principal, I have worked to update my school’s technology plan to establish a partial one-to-one program, putting more technology in the hands of our students. This has allowed for more collaboration between both students and teacher and enabled the students to enhance their education in a way that was not possible before.

In addition to teaching, I have led multiple students to top placement in our local county math competition, Mathletics. I worked with several student teams to help them develop an app concept for the Verizon Innovative App Challenge in which one team first won Best in State for California and then Best in Region for the Western states. I organized a Tech Squad for our school where students can learn how to do basic troubleshooting for devices and even help the teachers on occasion!

I have been so lucky for the past several years to teach the subjects I love in a place that I love. I have had the opportunity to pass on the love of subjects that most people fear and hate and I take pride in that fact. It makes what I do so worthwhile and so rewarding.

Contact Us