FAMILY I
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Welcome to Family I

"THE INSPIRATIONS"

A stupendous branch of O'Farrell Community School:
Center for Advanced Academic Studies.
Located in the heart of San Diego, California.







Please feel free to browse through our collage of information regarding our interdisciplinary team of teachers and students.

THE TEACHERS OF FAMILY I

Becky Breedlove - Math and Computers

Becky is our family leader. She is 47 years old and obtained her degree from Cal Western University. She became a teacher because while doing volunteer work she got interested in working with young adults. Becky's radical attire is oftentimes the source of humor for our family. Her hobbies are cooking, reading, driving old cars, dancing, concerts and rhythm and blues music.

Jim Mistarz - Science and Social Science

Jim's hobbies are flying lessons and mountain biking. Jim is 35 years old and the only male classroom teacher in our family. He became a teacher because he was inspired by a former teacher. Jim is a local who graduated from UCSD. Jim's quiet presence commands respect from his students.

Heidi Van Deventer - Science and Computers

At 27, Heidi is the youngest classroom teacher in our family. Heidi loved school and always wanted to be a teacher. She got her bachelor's degree from CSU Humboldt. Her hobbies are watching television, swimming and football.

Viraj Ward - Math and Physical Education

Viraj graduated from San Diego State University. With hobbies such as backpacking, hiking and camping, Viraj has the busiest weekends of the bunch! She enjoys working with children and likes the demands of the teaching profession. And a whopping 37 years old. Viraj rightly prides herself on her organization skills.

Wanda Williams - Language Arts and Social Studies

Wanda came to us from Virginia. She attended East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania. At 35, she enjoys travelling, reading and doing nifty things with her three sons. She has always loved school and knew that teaching was her calling. Wanda is extremely supportive of her students and colleagues.

Sandra Woodruff - Language Arts and Physical Education

A drama major when she attended San Diego State University, Sandra has a boisterous personality that charms her students into submission. She became a teacher in order to make a difference in education. An avid beach goer, Sandra loves travelling and reading. At 44 she remains dynamic in every aspect.

DaDisi Jacobs - Family Support Teacher

DaDisi is as unique as his name. We are all indebted to him for the many ways he contributes to the success of our family's philosophy. His relationship with the students is one of a kind and for that reason he is often involved in mediations between students.

Marsi Hogarth - Student Teacher

Marsi is a lighthearted person who fluctuates between psycho mania and complete efficient teaching machine. She is getting married soon and will find herself with the utterly ridiculous name, Marsi Marsh. Her relationship with her students is cool and candid while she maintains an orderly classroom. She truly admires Coreen's groovy control over the "new" slang.

Coreen Parsons - Student Teacher

Coreen is a hysterically funny woman. Her kids love to share their slang with her because her reactions are always unpredictable and amusing. She is learning the latest dances from her students and prides herself on being in tune with the latest trends. She is down with the current curriculum in the family and fits in nicely with our interdisciplinary team.

Todd Rankin - Student Teacher

Todd is an avid surfer and traveller. He also enjoys playing frisbee. He is looking forward to attaining his lifelong goal of educating the youth of America into becoming productive citizens. This definitely shows his background in conservatism and right wing politics!

Our students are ethnically diverse creating a culturally enriched environment. The O'Farrell Way allows us to work together in cooperative teams and grow in our perceptions of others. The following are some quotes from the students about themselves and their experiences at O'Farrell.



"What I like about O'Farrell is FSS. They help people out when they have a problem with another person from a different school or they help people when they need someone to be on their side. And they help people be a friend and when they get in fights they help them to be friends again."
Lisa Panhwanh

"Something I like is the library because they have special computers to help you find out what book you want to read."
Jason Bernaldo

"Another thing I like about O'Farrell is our clubs, We have clubs like, The Philippino Club, Azteca Club, JapeneseAnamation club, Martial Arts Club, and more. One club I'm in is The Japanese Anamation Club. All we do is watch interesting videos, do art contest, and raffles. One other thing I like about O'Farrell is our school band. I am in our school band and our teacher is Jackie Crump-Pace. She is a good and funny teacher. We play music for our school to hear on weekday nights. We play stuff like , Lean on me, Good King Wincalis, Aztec Sunrise, Tears in Heaven, Prelude and March, and Gonna Fly Now. The instrument I play is the Flute. These are the things I like about O'Farrell."
James Azurin

"One good thing I like about O' Farrell is the teachers. Because you can really look up to them when you need help. The second good thing about O'Farrell is we don't have a principal. Instead we have a Keeper of The Dream. He has a dream a dream of children being more educated."
Franky Garcia

"The school has a system much like an oath. This called the "O'Farrell Way" , each and every person to attend O'Farrell has to follow their rules."
Julius Navarro

"I like the computer lab that we have. You can write a book on those computers!"
Leon Windsor

"Something I like about O'Farrell is homebase. It's the same thing as homeroom at other schools. I like it because it is a time where you can get settled in."
Glenn Swanson

"Three things that I like about O'Farrell is that we have a homebase teacher that is like your mom at school. Another thing is that we have three teachers instead of one so that the teachers don't have that much work to deal with. And that this is a charter sdchool and is not ruled by the government so we could do what we want to."
Michael Isyasa

"I like poetry because I like to write poems and I can learn what a metaphor is. I also like sex education. I learn about what is inside my body and what is going on in my body. And how to protect my body and keep my body safe."
Tamika Samuel

"The library is very nice. They have computers to use. The library has alot of books for students to use and teachers as well. Students use the computers to find books. They also have detectors so, when somebody steals a book the detector will beep. We also have clubs in the morning. So that we won't get bored in the mornings and we can learn about our cultural background. There are many clubs such as, martial arts, Filipino club, azteca club, dance club, and much, much more. "
Emmylou Tolentino

"One of the things I like about O'Farrell is the town meetings. The town meeting is when some clubs perform. The clubs do shows, dances, fashion shows, and singing. But the town meetings aren't everyday. The other thing I like about O'Farrell is how the classes are. We go to different classes for different subjects. We also have different teachers. The classes are also fun. We also do exciting projects."
Mary Ambito



OUR PHILOSOPHY

Our family believes in the idea that less is more and therefore is divided into two teacher triads. Each teacher in a triad is responsible for two disciplines and a homebase group of approximately 23 students. The triads pull together to actively plan and implement the interdisciplinary teaching that furthers the ideals of O'Farrell's philosophy.


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