Dear Parents and Students,
 
My name is Ralph Gonzales and I am the new middle school science teacher at St. Leander School. I am thrilled and anxious to get to know your student and dive into the material. This will be my 10^th year in education. I have taught at schools such as Challenger School, Stratford School, Fremont Christian, Santa Clara High School, and most recently Mission Hills Middle School. I did most of my schooling at San Jose State with a focus in Kinesiology, but finished my undergrad degree at Ashford University with a concentration in Health Education. I am in school right now pursing my Master’s Degree at Grand Canyon University.

My motto as an educator is, “I am here to set up my students for success.” I will do everything in power to ensure success in my class. With that being said, they are going to need to show me that they want to succeed and put in the effort. We will have many in depth class discussions and fun assignments throughout the year. I expect each one of my students to come to class prepared and to be ready for class when the bell rings. I am very big on respect and will expect each one of my students to show respect to the teacher, their fellow students, and the school’s materials.

In my spare time, I enjoy watching and playing sports. Teams of my interest are the San Francisco 49ers, Oakland A’s, Golden State Warriors, and San Jose Sharks. A recent hobby that I have picked up is running. I ran my first half marathon in July in San Francisco and recently ran a half marathon in Berkeley. I have 2 beautiful daughters who are 6 years old and 10 months old. Their mother, my partner and best friend, keeps all of us grounded.  She is truly a blessing.  I am also a strong believer in Christ and His everlasting love.

Thank you, and I cannot to wait to meet you all.
 
Mr. Ralph Gonzales
rgonzales@csdo.org