Our Teachers
Our Teachers are amazing!
At San Jose Highly Gifted Magnet, we have some of the best trained and experienced teachers in the highly gifted realm. We are privileged to have teachers that understand the needs and challenges presented by these intelligent children. Our teachers keep our children interested and challenged. Their classroom activities encompass far more than presented in the typical classroom. Children are encouraged to speak and are permitted to explore the many questions they have with respect to each topic. The discussions in each classroom are directed by the teacher but, each teacher encourages independent thought and creativity. Each classroom is a combined effort that culminates in an enriched curriculum.
Mrs. Walker
Mrs. Walker teaches 2nd and 3rd grades in one combined classroom. She is delighted to be able to do interesting projects with the children, and devote one-on-one attention to each student. The classroom is full of interesting things to look at and do, and there are six different 'exhibits' of each child's work. The exhibits reveal Mrs. Walker's emphasis on creative writing, ordered thinking, and identifying 'change' in relationships (change in the relationships between numbers, and between characters in a story). Mrs. Walker encourages self-discipline, neatness, creativity and high academic standards. She takes real pleasure in the individual personalities of her students, and their accomplishments. The picture shows Mrs. Walker in late March, standing beside her students' artwork. Each child read Laura Ingalls Wilder's book, "A Big House in a Little Wood" and created a model scene of the log cabin, the surrounding woods, the stream nearby, and the animals and livestock described in the book.
Spotlight on Kimberly Garcia
Kimberly Garcia knows Highly Gifted! Miss Garcia began her highly gifted training in elementary school: She is a product of San Jose St. School Elementary & Highly Gifted Center! She continued her training at the University of California, Los Angeles where she earned a bachelor’s degree in English Literature. Miss Garcia completed her teaching credential at California State University, Northridge where she later earned a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Policy. Miss Garcia has been a National Board Certified Teacher for six years.
Always looking for new and varied teaching modalities to use in her classroom, Miss Garcia attends various state and local conferences for the highly gifted, including the annual California Association for the Gifted (CAG) conference, and Dr. Sandra Kaplan USC Institutes on Depth and Complexity. Miss Garcia has also completed courses to integrate technology in her classroom. She understands the necessity to teach students how to use technology appropriately and effectively. Students in Miss Garcia’s for research, creating projects, and for project presentation. In addition to her classroom duties, Miss Garcia works closely with the Getty Center Museum as a curriculum advisor. She collaborates with the Getty Education Department to create and present classroom lessons that integrate the fine arts with the science, social studies, and language arts subject areas. Her primary goal for highly gifted students is to provide a multiple pathways for students to access the California State Content Standards. Miss Garcia’s mission is to create a learning environment where highly gifted students feel accepted, safe, and academically challenged.
Spring Semester in Ms. Garcia's class:
The children created their own mission from recycled materials. The children worked in teams to accurately portray and create a section of the mission during classroom time.
The Fourth Graders in math class created games that used the principles that they had learned
First Semester Activities:
Some of the things that are happening in Ms. Garcia's class, from left to right:
Far Left: "Dollars and Sense." The basis for this unit is the Open Court Curriculum. In addition to the core program, the Fourth Graders are developing a business plan for their own businesses. One business is selling used books; the other is operating a movie theater. The children need to write letters and proposals to obtain the approval of the principal and the school district! Ms. Garcia has had the children research other companies through the computers in class and has had them read and learn about business planning from a business web site used by business outside the education realm. Ms. Garcia has artfully combined reading skills, writing skills, organization skills, group cooperation skills and math skills in one project! They will use the proceeds to go on a field trip.
Middle Left: Ms. Garcia helped co-write this Art and Science curriculum guide that is published by the J. Paul Getty Museum!
Middle Right: One of the California education standards is learning to research from a variety of sources. The Fourth Graders research through the Internet and through other traditional sources every week! Each week is a different topic. Some topics have been the history of Halloween, who is Donald Trump, the Hope Diamond, an insect of your choice and many, many more!
Far Right: Art Tells a Story. The Fourth Graders are writing stories about selected pieces of art from the Getty Museum.