Mark Gomez

Mark is in his ninth year of teaching in the Los Angeles Unified School District. He began his career teaching 7th grade World History at John Muir Middle School. While at Muir, Mark served as a mentor teacher to UCLA teachers in training and as a Faculty Advisor to Teach for America. He was department chair, SLC lead teacher, GATE co-coordinator, instructional coach, and UTLA chapter chair. He taught there for five years before moving to Manual Arts High School to take part in the development of their Freshmen Preparatory Academy. There, he taught the 9th grade social studies elective for two years before becoming involved in a project to design four small, public community schools through the Public School Choice 3.0 application process. Mark was a core member of the design team for the Schools for Community Action at the newly constructed Augustus Hawkins Campus. He has since concluded his first year of teaching for the Critical Design and Gaming School, teaching the Geography and Urban Ecology elective for the Freshmen.  

Mark also currently serves as Adjunct Faculty in both Antioch University and UCLA's Teacher Education Program (TEP), teaching graduate courses in Language Development, Social Studies Instructional Methodology, and Critical Media Literacy. His work in secondary social science classrooms has been presented at many conferences including AERA, Mt. St. Mary's Critical Teaching in Action, and Teachers for Social Justice conferences. Mark is also certified in Gifted and Talented Education through UCSD extension, and Teaching students with Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities through UCLA extension. He is fortunate to be able to combine his passions and interests in the creative arts, social sciences, and experiential education throughout the duration of this grant opportunity and his teaching career.

Katie Rainge-Briggs

Katie is in her eleventh year teaching Social Studies, and currently teaches in the Responsible Indigenous Social Entrepreneurship (RISE) School on the Augustus Hawkins Campus. She was a design team member for the RISE school, and served on the schools School Site Council as a member as well as UTLA co-chair for RISE. While serving the school community in a variety of roles, she has also taught a variety of courses from Advance Placement Government to World History and Geography. She is committed to teaching a diverse body of students thus, her certification to teach students with Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities through UCLA Extension; as well as a recognition by LAUSD as a Common Core Social Studies Fellow.  In 2009, Katie applied for a Teacher Innovation Grant with Tony Terry, and together they created an 8-week Community Asset Mapping curriculum to integrate within the yearlong World History / Geography 10^th grade program. Furthering her commitment to help young people claim their academic voice, she works with UCLA’s Council of Youth Research and has coached students in presenting to several policy-making bodies, including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. As Manual Arts transitioned from Local District management into the Innovation Division, Katie served on the transition team to help set the stage for MLA and WestEd to become effective non-profit managers of our school site. As UTLA representative at Manual Arts High School during the 2009-10 academic year, Katie co-chaired the School Decision Making council and supported teachers with mediation and professional development. Additionally, Katie has mentored student teachers in the USC and UCLA teacher preparation programs. Collaborations and learning is at the core of her teaching goals and is fortunate to augment this core with her participation in this grant.

Tony Terry

Tony Terry comes to Augustus F. Hawkins High School after 9 years of experience working with South Central Los Angeles students and families. As Assistant Principal and Coordinator, he opened the Freshman Prep Academy (FPA) at Manual Arts High School. Under his leadership, the FPA was a collaborative and innovative program in which students experienced an academically and emotionally supportive environment. Prior to leading the FPA, Tony used his position as Dean of Discipline to drastically reduce suspension rates while maintaining a safe campus climate. A graduate of the UCLA Teacher Education Program (TEP), Tony taught Social Studies courses in each secondary grade level from 2003 - 2009. He developed and implemented rigorous, culturally relevant curriculum through an innovative application of Complex Instruction, Community Asset Mapping, and Critical Action Research. His innovative curricular work led to several noteworthy grant awards including the Teacher Initiated Inquiry Project, awarded in 2012. His applied his passion for mentoring other teachers and students by working with the UCLA's Council of Youth Researchers and UCLA TEP as a guiding teacher. As the principal of the RISE School, Tony will apply the curricular experience he gained by becoming a Certified Entrepreneurship Teacher through the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship. Tony is a graduate of the UCLA Principal's Leadership Institute where he earned a M. Ed. in Educational Leadership and an administrative credential. Tony is excited about continuing to work with students and families in the Slauson and Hoover community

Patricia Hanson

Patricia is a Social Studies teacher and an original design team member for the the Community Health Advocates School at Augustus Hawkins High School in LAUSD. She began her teaching career at Manual Arts High School in 2007 as a World History and Government/Economics Teacher. She has since taught US History, AP World History, and AP US Government in addition to developing and teaching a new course entitled Introduction to Social Work and Health Advocacy. In her time at Manual Arts she served as department chair, advisor for the Gay Straight Alliance, Chair of the Instructional Leadership Advisory Committee and was her small learning community's co-lead. She taught at Manual for five years and then moved to Augustus Hawkins High School Community Health Advocates School after becoming involved as a  core member of the design team for the Schools for Community Action Pilot Schools at Augustus Hawkins Campus. She has since concluded her first year of teaching for the Community Health Advocates School, teaching US History, World History and Introduction to Social Work and Health Advocacy to 10th and 11th graders she also served as the STOP Club Advisor(Students Together Organizing for Peace) and was Vice-Chair for the School Site Council.  

Patricia is a graduate of the UCLA Teacher Education Program and the UCLA Principal Leadership Institute. She has been recognized as a Common Core Social Studies Fellow for LAUSD and has developed and published curriculum with USC's Center for Active Learning in International Studies, the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, the USC Roybal Institute on Aging and with the USC School of Social Work. She is very thankful for the opportunities and growth she has experienced throughout the duration of the TIIP grant. 

Aleyda N. Moran-Martinez

Aleyda N. Moran-Martinez is currently a Social Studies teacher at RISE--Responsible Indigenous Social Entrepreneurship School at Augustus Hawkins High School. She immigrated to the United States when she was seven years old from her home country, Guatemala. She is a product of dedicated teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District. During her college years at UCLA, she mentored first-generation college students as she volunteered with the UCLA Center for Community Programs. In addition to her volunteer efforts, Aleyda worked for the Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program (UCLA-LOSH), a nationally recognized center promoting safe workplaces through teaching and education, research, and policy advocacy. Her work with UCLA-LOSH led her to conduct local and state-wide awareness of young worker rights and safety in the job along with developing and implementing professional development for educators and community advocates. Aleyda left her position as Youth Project Coordinator after six years when starting her Education Master’s Program at the UCLA Teacher Education Program. Throughout her master’s work, Aleyda co-taught and worked closely with her guiding teachers at Manual Arts High School in developing and implementing innovative curriculum that respects both students and the community. After receiving her Master’s degree, she then joined the Manual Arts community and has been teaching for three years. She has experience teaching all Social Science courses with an emphasis on Entrepreneurship Economics. Aleyda transitioned into the small learning community (SLC) teacher leadership position for the Business, Education, Applied Science, and Technology (BEST) SLC, where they collaborated and conducted professional development, community building, and SLC development for students and teachers. 

As a design team member for RISE she applied all of her life and education experiences to create a school in South Central that embodies responsible business and labor practices. Aleyda has also served as a guiding teacher for both UCLA and USC teacher education schools and serves as a RISE School Site Council Representative.  In addition, she is a certified AP Human Geography teacher and also sponsors the M.U.J.E.R. Club (a United Resistance Movement of Young Educated Women) which provides a stage for female student voice for a historically overlooked group.  She looks forward to continuing to apply her experiences and expertise in curriculum and school culture at RISE.