GILROY
– Two agricultural science teachers – one local, one not – have
been hired for the 2003-04 school year, a move school district
officials hope allays concerns that Gilroy High School’s ag program
is slowly being killed off.
GILROY – Two agricultural science teachers – one local, one not – have been hired for the 2003-04 school year, a move school district officials hope allays concerns that Gilroy High School’s ag program is slowly being killed off.
Heather Nolan, an agriculture teacher and program adviser at Frazier Mountain High School in Southern California, was named lead ag teacher and ag program adviser for Gilroy High School. She will take over this summer for popular second-year teacher David Duarte, whose contract was not renewed by the school for next year.
Eliot Elementary School teacher Steven Jackson was hired as the other ag science teacher. He replaces Sabrina Olivas-Henry, who was also not asked to come back in 2003-04.
The teacher firings sent the agriculture community into a frenzy in March, making many parents and students in the local Future Farmers of America chapter wonder if their program was being dismantled for budget or other reasons.
“That thought is only a perception that’s out there,” said GUSD teacher recruiter Gene Sakahara. “But I knew it was out there, and I was looking for a strong level of commitment from the teachers I interviewed. Everything I got from Heather and everything I heard back from her references supported that.”
GHS and district officials, citing policies on personnel confidentiality, would not divulge the reasons Duarte and Olivas-Henry were let go. Speculation has ranged from teacher wrongdoing to a lack of academic rigor in the classroom.
Both Duarte and Olivas-Henry say the school never gave them reasons for being let go. Because the teachers were not tenured, they were not owed such an explanation under state law.
The secrecy infuriated parents and students because for the first time in years the ag community felt they had enthusiastic teachers who had turned the program around.
Duarte and Olivas-Henry increased enrollment in the ag program from 150 to 240 students. And, the amount of state ag awards GHS students won tripled during their short tenure.
Duarte, 27, said he has made no teaching plans for next year and would devote himself to an embroidery business he recently started. Olivas-Henry, 32, said she would look into job opportunities in other districts.
“We liked the ag teachers we had,” parent Marcia Linden said Wednesday after learning of the new hirings. “I just hope the new teachers want to grow some roots here and that this is not a revolving door.”
Jackson could not be reached for comment before deadline. He is a former GHS science teacher who was once named Teacher of the Year by the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce. He will teach horticulture, Principal Bob Bravo said.
As for Nolan, the Fresno State alumnus is planning to move north after her job in Lebec finishes this month. Nolan, a longtime FFA and 4-H member and a member of state and national ag teachers groups, specializes in swine. She owns a small herd of registered spotted hogs that will make the move north with her.
“They’ll be coming with me eventually, once I get there and find a home,” Nolan said.
Nolan said she has spoken with Duarte and one parent in recent days to get a better feel for the Gilroy program’s status and needs. Like Duarte, Nolan is a certified agriculture teacher, making the Gilroy chapter eligible to compete in FFA events.
Nolan spent the last year and a half rebuilding Frazier Mountain High School’s ag program that saw its lead teacher leave midyear, Nolan said, leaving behind a program in shambles that some administrators wanted to cut entirely.
Although participation in FFA events is up, Frazier Mountain had to reduce agriculture positions due to budget cuts this year, Nolan said.
“The situation in Gilroy it seems to me is just the opposite. There is tremendous community support from what I can tell,” Nolan said.
At a recent ag boosters meeting held before Nolan’s hiring, Linden said parents were concerned the high school’s plans did not give the adviser enough classes with juniors and seniors.
“They need as much contact as possible with the adviser as they go to competitions and try to get the scholarships that are out there,” Linden said.
Bravo said students are still in the process of signing up for classes next year, so it is not clear which ag science courses Nolan will teach. Courses offered at GHS are based on student demand.
“We’ve committed to Heather full time, so we’ll certainly find classes for her to do,” Bravo said.
