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There are some new faces roaming the halls of Mountain Vista School in Oracle (and we’re not talking kids).
There are five new teachers who join the ranks of the educators.
Tara Garcia teaches sixth grade. She received her Bachelor’s in Education from the University of Arizona and her Master’s in Education from Arizona State University.
“I have always had a passion for teaching, even when I was very young,” she said. “I hope to meet my students where they are academically and push them as far as they can go. I’d like my students to give my class a love of lifelong learning.”
Tara enjoys reading and spending time with her family. She is married to John Garcia and they have four children: John Jr., Lacee, Alexis and Samantha.
Debbie Vargas will also be teaching sixth grade. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Northern Arizona University. Her career goals are she plans to continue with classroom teaching. She loves kids and that is why she chose teaching as a career.
Debbie likes to read, hike and spending time with family and friends. She has two daughters, Ashley who is a senior at Embry Riddle University and Rebecca who is graduated from Canyon del Oro High School this year.
Mark Parrish is the new seventh grade English Language Arts teacher. He received his Bachelor of Science in Education degree from Baker College and his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Western Michigan University.
He chose teaching as a profession “because I had amazing teachers who inspired me to achieve my goals.” He added, “I plan to work on being the best 7th grade ELA teacher I can be.”
Mark is single and loves to read, watch movies and listen to music.
José Joel Cardona Gonzalez will be teaching K – 8 Art. He is from Puerto Rico originally, then living in Florida before moving to Arizona in 2009. He has a degree in Art Education from the University of Arizona.
José enjoys playing board & video games, filming, making 3-D art and working out.
Phil Coleman is the new K – 8 Music Teacher. He went to school at the University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign, M.M. Euphonium Performance. He received a B.M. degree in Music Education from Susquehana University in Selmsgrove, Pennsylvania. He can play a number of musical instruments.
He chose a teaching career “to be a positive role model for students of all ages.” His career goal is to work at Mountain vista School for a long time.
In his free time, he enjoys playing golf, reading and watching sports. Phil is married to Dr. Lauren Coleman and they have a 9 month old son, Andrew.
John Hernandez lives in Oracle. He is retired and enjoys writing and traveling. He is active in the Oracle Historical Society. He covers numerous public events, researches historical features and writes business/artist profiles.
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