Admin
Daniel Allen
Principal
Daniel Allen taught high school Spanish for 5 years in Arizona, and then worked as an administrator at TechBoston Academy in Dorchester, MA before joining CAT. He earned his Master of Education in School Leadership at Harvard, and received a B.A. in Spanish and a B.A.E. in Secondary Education from Arizona State University. He is a National Board Certified teacher and was a Fulbright Scholar in Education Policy in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Daniel lives near CAT with his wife Lynzie, and their two young children.
Karen Bioski-Simon
Vice Principal
Mrs Simon-Bioski is the Vice Principal of Operations at CAT. Before becoming the Vice Principal, she taught science at CAT, in Novato, and in Boston. She is currently enrolled in a graduate program at UC Berkeley called the Principal Leadership Program and completed both her undergraduate and graduate degrees at Northeastern University in Boston. She loves being able to support CAT's students and in her time off loves going on runs with her dogs.
Dr. Michael Dunson
Vice Principal
Michael Dunson was born and raised in Hempstead New York. He is currently an assistant principal at City Arts and Technology High School in San Francisco, and he is working towards his administrative credential in the Principal Leadership Institute at the University of California, Berkeley. Mike earned a Ph.D. at the Stanford University School of Education and a Master of Arts in history education at Columbia University, Teachers College. His research interests include the history of educational politics and the decision-making processes involved in educational policy. In addition to the research, he enjoys cycling, swimming, and listening to music.
Molly French
School Manager
I grew up here in San Francisco but I have lived many different places. Before coming to work at CAT I: taught elementary school, worked on an organic farm, taught flying trapeze, worked on the sets of movies and TV shows and volunteered on a Wilderness Search and Rescue team. Right now I am resting up and trying to figure out what to try next.
Oscar Enriquez
Oscar is originally from San Jose and is currently a student at San Francisco City College. He loves photography and has been a photographer for Cirque du Soleil. After leaving SJ for the big apple in 2007, he’s back in the bay area and loving San Francisco. He loves Dolores Park, the Mission, art, music, and languages. He’s also the master of all things español at CAT.
Sue Chapman
College Advisor
Sue Chapman is the College Advisor at City Arts and Tech High School. Sue joined CAT in the fall of 2007.
Sue has been in the field of educational counseling since 2002. She has been a college counselor at public and private high schools in the Bay Area, and has worked as an independent college counselor. During the winter application season, Sue also works with UC Berkeley, reading and evaluating applications for undergraduate admission.
Degrees and Certifications:
MBA - University of Texas at Austin
BA in Economics - University of Illinois
Certified College Admissions Counselor and Career Planner - UC Berkeley Extension.
Sue’s previous career was in financial services. She is happy to have put work in corporate America behind her, as working with young people during this exciting transition time in their lives is far more rewarding.
Sue lives in San Francisco with her husband and two sons.
TLC
The Learning Center is staffed by 5 amazing Learning Specialists and is a safe space to receive extra support on schoolwork. It is open to all students at lunch and afterschool everyday except Wednesday. Students can receive additional help during the school day through strategic planning and collaborating between a Learning Specialist and each classroom teacher. If you feel your student needs academic or emotional support please contact his or her advisor. TLC is staffed by Caitlin McLees, Jessica Fyles,Kiera Chase, Elizabeth Noble, Ainate Yiaueki, and Derrick Balogna.
Blog http://cattlc.wordpress.com
Cosmic
9th grade teachers
Jude Widmann
English
Graduated from Gonzaga University with degrees in Political Science and Public Relations. He spent most of his time in the women's studies department smashing on white male supremacy and taking heat from feminists of color. Jude earned his MA: Urban Education and Social Justice from USF in 2011. His thesis explored ways in which students and teachers communicate in the 21st century. In his free time he enjoys political hip hop, flower arranging, longboarding SF's finest hills, critical race theory, and biking with purpose.
Marni Spitz
Global Studies
Ms. Spitz was born and raised in sunny Southern California where she attended UCLA and majored in History (Go Bruins!). After college, she packed her bags for Africa where she worked with rural Tanzanian communities to help establish educational and medical support in their fight against HIV/AIDS. Inspired by her time there, Ms. Spitz moved to the Big Apple, where she pursued her Master's degree in Social Studies education at NYU. After teaching in Brooklyn for four years, she is thrilled to return to her roots in California a little tougher and wiser, and can't wait to rekindle her love for burritos and frozen yogurt.
Jesse Feldman
Physics
Jesse Feldman has called San Francisco home his whole life. After graduating from high school, he moved to NY for his four years at Vassar College. The highlight of this time was his semester abroad where he studied wildlife management in Kenya. After Vassar, Jesse spent time traveling and farming in Italy, Spain and France. He started his career as a teacher doing outdoor environmental education at Ft. Funston and in several school gardens. He followed this with a few years teaching in canoes on the bay, with the organization Save The Bay. Jesse earned his teaching credential from CSU East Bay and taught in Berkeley before joining the CAT staff, where he is enjoying his second year as a science teacher.
http://supernovahomework.blogspot.com/
Brandon Barrette
Algebra
Paul Ferraris
Digital Media
Paul Ferraris grew up in East Los Angeles California and he has been teaching digital media at CAT for four years. Before CAT he taught 7th grade Language Arts and Social Studies for six years and in 2007 received Teacher of the year from the South San Francisco Unified School district. Paul Graduated from San Francisco State University with a Bachelors in Sociology, he is the first in his family to graduate from college. In addition to teaching Paul is a writer and photographer; his images and non-fiction stories have been featured in magazines, journals, and books internationally. Paul loves spending time with his wife and two daughters, when possible he also loves to surf, cycle and travel. Paul has a dog named Maya that likes eating gross stuff in Golden Gate Park, but he loves her despite and at times lets her sleep on the bed.
http://paulsdiglass.blogspot.com/
http://www.paulferraris.com/
Galactic
10th grade teachers
Matt Christenson
Visual Art
Matt Christenson started his teaching career at CAT, and is currently in his 5th year. He graduated from UC Santa Cruz in 2004 with a BA and the Dean's Award in Painting. He has painted numerous public and private murals professionally as a solo artist and with youth. His artistic inspiration comes from many cultural forms and varieties, but has always been mostly inspired by the peoples of North and South America. Mesoamerican sculpture, Peruvian ceramics and textiles, Mexican Murals, and Hip-Hop Graffiti are personal favorites. His philosophy of art making in high school is that his class is a way for each individual to find something unique about him or herself. It is a method to further the learning and depth of self and other subjects by making conceptual connections to issues and themes addressed in other areas of life.
http://supernovahomework.blogspot.com/
Mike McCall
Geometry
Mike McCall teaches Geometry at CAT. Before coming to CAT, Mike taught algebra and geometry at Hillsdale High School in San Mateo, CA. Mike earned his M.A. in Education, Teaching of Mathematics, from Stanford University and his B.A. in Economics from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before becoming a math teacher, Mike spent 20 years working in the banking business in San Francisco and New York City. When he is not at school, Mike loves snow skiing, fly fishing, biking, playing his acoustic guitar and spending time with his wife of 26 years, their four kids and two black labrador retrievers.
http://supernovahomework.blogspot.com/
http://galactichomework.blogspot.com/
Todd Smith
English
Mr. Smith has been at CAT since its beginning and has enjoyed his time as a teacher in the Lower Division. He graduated from Florida State University (in Tallahassee, FL) with a degree in English. Before teaching he worked in the high-tech industry in a variety of positions including technical writer, marketing specialist, tradeshow director and public relations manager. He lives in San Francisco with his partner, David, and their two sons.
http://galactichomework.blogspot.com/
Jose Campos
History
Jose Campos was born in the Mission District of San Francisco. His parents came from Michoacan and Jalisco in the '60's. Jose is a native Spanish speaker and has been a bilingual educator throughout California including the cities of: South San Francisco, Redwood City, and San Diego. He attended UCSC for his BA in Psychology and MA in Education. He is currently attending SFSU for a Masters in Education Administration. Jose is the first person in his extended family to attend a university let alone attain a graduate degree. His interests include: Aikido, mountain biking, motorcycles, visual art, and camping.
Meredith Spoto
Life Science
Super Nova
11th grade teachers
Melissa Rodriguez
English
I'm so happy to be back at CAT! This is my sixth year teaching and my fourth year at CAT. I earned my Bachelor of Arts at Brown University and my Masters in Education at Stanford. My own high school back in Miami, where I was raised, was massive and I saw many students fall through the cracks. Out of a freshman class of 1600, only 340 graduated four years later. That is why I'm committed to teaching in neighborhoods like the one in which I lived. I want to see all of our kids excel in high school and graduate into successful colleges or professional careers.
Lisa Grady
AP Science
Shari Baerga
History
Ms. Baerga is in her seventh year of teaching and her third year at CAT. She is NYC Teaching Fellow who taught for two years at Boys and Girls High School in Brooklyn and two years at Urban Assembly School of Music & Art a small school like CAT. Ms. Baerga received her bachelor’s degree from University of Washington in American Ethnic Studies where she concentrated in African American Studies and is the first in her family to graduate college. She pursued her master’s degree in Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State where she focused on Mixed Race Identity and Culture. In September of 2007 Ms. Baerga finished her M. Ed. at Long Island University. She is dual certified in Social Studies and Special Education. Ms. Baerga enjoys spending time with her family exploring the cities she has lived(NYC, Seattle, & San Francisco), and traveling. In the past she has been to Cuba, Italy, traveled across the United States and numerous trips to Puerto Rico.
Jessica Kinloch
Advanced math
Rachel Meisels
Spanish
Rachel Meisels is originally from Chicago. She went to Stanford University, worked in professional theater, moved to Barcelona, Spain, where she taught English, then moved to Boston, got her masters, worked for multiple theater companies and schools, before finally coming back to CA. Phew, she's tired! This is her second year at CAT.
Stellar
12th grade teachers
Ben Rosen
AP U.S. Government & Politics
Ben Rosen is the 12th grade AP U.S. Government & Politics teacher at CAT. This is his third year teaching at CAT. Before joining Envision, Ben worked for five years as an 8th grade History teacher down in Los Altos. He is particularly interested in engaging students around topics of political theory and social justice. Ben is originally from New York and went to college at the University of Vermont. He loves dark coffee, dogs, pine trees, and burritos and does not like hitting cold spots in microwaved food.
Ian Thacker
Ian Thacker is a 9th grade physics teacher at City Arts and Technology High School. He grew up in Denver Colorado, earned his bachelors degree in mathematics and physics from the University of Colorado at Boulder and taught algebra and geometry for two years in Denver before moving to the bay area to earn his masters degree at UC Berkeley in Mathematics Education. He likes riding his bicycle, enjoys traveling, prefers paper over plastic, appreciates music that sounds like a washing machine and loves strawberry ice cream. He is exited about the forthcoming year and is enthusiastic about teaching.
Mahru Elahi
World Literature and Visual art
Mahru Elahi is a writer and ‘zine-maker living in San Francisco. She began creating and illustrating books in the third grade. During the 1980s, she discovered do-it-yourself magazines and later began a love affair with comic books, including a stint as an intern for the groundbreaking publisher, Milestone Media. She recently had severalpages of her ‘zine “Riding Rough Roads Really Slow” published in the anthology Days I Moved Through Ordinary Sounds: the Teachers of WritersCorps in Poetry and Prose (City Lights Foundation).
Mahru is addicted not only to ink, but also to words: she has taught literary arts for a decade and received her Master of Science in Teaching at New School University in New York City. Her students have included other teachers, elementary school-age children, emerging adult writers, high school youth, women in prison, and middle schoolers. Mahru’s non-fiction and poetry have appeared in magazines, journals, and the anthology Let Me Tell You Where I’ve Been: New Writing by Women of the Iranian Diaspora (University of Arkansas Press).
Kim Jensen
Visual Arts
Kim Jensen is a mosaic artist and educator living and working in San Francisco. She has a degree in sculpture from San Francisco State University where she also received her teaching credential. She has been teaching art in San Francisco arts charter schools since 2006.
Erica Magnusson
AP Environmental Science
Erica Magnusson is the 12th Grade Biology Teacher at CAT. This is my first year teaching at CAT and I'm very excited to be here. Erica grew up in New Hampshire before completing her undergrad in St. Petersburg, Florida at Eckerd College where she majored in Biology and Environmental Studies and minored in Human Development. The highlight of her college experience was teaching abroad in Uganda and Malawi, Africa as well as in Costa Rica and Panama. Erica is currently getting her masters in Education from Loyola Marymount University. She loves humpback whales, sushi, traveling and exciting lab experiments in the classroom!
