Eighth graders in Lindsey Pope’s math class at South Valley
Middle School waved their wipeboards in the air during a rousing
game of Bingo. Adding a twist, Pope used the game to help her
students review improper fractions.
Eighth graders in Lindsey Pope’s math class at South Valley Middle School waved their wipeboards in the air during a rousing game of Bingo. Adding a twist, Pope used the game to help her students review improper fractions.
She called out a problem to her students, “What’s two halves take away 23/25ths?” While the students scribbled numbers on their boards, she circulated among the clusters of desks where the eighth graders worked together to come up with the answers.
“Show me your work,” she reminded the students. “Find a common denominator … simplify … tell me how you came up with that … don’t just guess,” she suggested when the students were stuck on a problem. Her fingers smudged with dry erase marker, Pope, 23, leaned over the desks to offer advice and encouragement. Once the class decided on the right answer, which was 2/25ths, students placed a chip on their Bingo card if that answer was present.
“She’s cool,” said Angela Padilla, an eighth grade student of Pope’s. “She’s one of the best teachers I’ve had.”
Pope shared the sentiment. “I love my kids,” she said.
The staff and students at SVMS are what convinced Pope to take the job. After two years of actively recruiting Pope, Principal John Perales was relieved when he finally added her to his staff. Describing a shortage in qualified math and science teachers, Perales referred to his staff as “precious cargo” and was enthusiastic about welcoming Pope to his team. Unfortunately for school districts, many college students who major in math and science go on to work in the fields of engineering or accounting, leaving schools wanting for math and science teachers.
After growing up and attending high school in Aptos, Pope earned her Bachelor’s degree in mathematics at California State University, Chico. She graduated in 2006 and said Perales began calling her with job offers that summer.
“I wanted to be a teacher since high school,” Pope said. She was inspired and encouraged by her high school math teacher and comes from a family of teachers. Her older sister, Courtney Pope, is a first grade teacher at Rod Kelley.
Pope had committed her first year after college to a family she worked for during college, watching after their children and managing the office of their physical therapy clinic. Perales was impressed with her commitment but checked back a year later. Originally, Pope had planned to spend the next year earning her teaching credential at California Polytechnic University, but Perales made it clear that she had a job waiting for her at SVMS.
Perales was supportive of Pope’s decision either way but invited her to visit the campus and spend a day with the students and staff.
“The day I left this school, I had made my decision,” Pope said. “I was terrified of being the new, young teacher but the support here is amazing. That’s huge for me – having someone (Perales) who’s been in my shoes.”
A young school administrator himself at 34, Perales is in his third year as principal of SVMS and has noticed a trend of more young people in leadership positions. “Young folks are getting a shot,” he said. With such a high demand for teachers such as Pope, Perales said that schools are no longer interviewing many candidates for few positions. Although the interviewing process was “a shining moment for her,” Perales said that she interviewed him as well.
“You have to market your school now,” Perales said. Since teachers salaries in the Gilroy Unified School District aren’t exactly attracting many teachers, his biggest marketing technique is the value he places on relationships. GUSD teacher pay scale was ranked the 30th lowest of the 33 districts in Santa Clara County in a 2006-2007 comparability report prepared by the California Teachers Association. According to the report, a starting teacher earns $42,588 in Gilroy, almost $4,000 below the county average of $46,560.
The district considered paying math and science teachers a stipend on top of their salary to lure educators to Gilroy. The idea fizzled after complaints of unfairness from other teachers.
“We have to fix the pay issue with teaching,” Perales said.
“It didn’t matter about the pay or where I was,” Pope said. “Everyone here is so welcoming.”
