Meet our Instructors
English Instructors
- Anthony Gonzales
- Arlyn Sharpe
- Casey Hollister
- Ethan Halter
- Melissa Graeber
- Michael Kahn
- Tenisha Armstrong
- Will Juola
Anthony Gonzales :: agonzales@sileducation.com
instructor of Spanish Language, American Sign Language (ASL) & English
Anthony Gonzales grew up between Albuquerque, New Mexico and Santa Cruz, California. He now feels at home in the Bay Area.
Anthony earned his B.A. from the University of New Mexico. His degree was a double major in English / Creative Writing, and Spanish. His career at UNM included travel to a dozen countries, as well as studies in such Humanities as: Philosophy, History, Chicano/Latino Studies, American Sign Language (ASL), and Anthropology.
After graduating, Anthony continued his education in the University of San Francisco’s Master’s of Fine Arts in Writing Program. His M.F.A. thesis was a novel, entitled Movimiento.
Anthony’s current life is a continued investigation into cultural, societal, and individual interaction. As a trilingual individual, he values languages as instruments of expression; he is currently learning Portuguese, French, and Italian in hopes of reading some of his favorite works in the original.
He values the written word, and hopes to contribute to the realm of public ideas. He loves art in all forms.
Anthony is an experienced teacher of students of all ages, from pre-school to college. He believes that every interaction is an opportunity for growth and development. He loves to see students learn, and has learned immensely from his students. His only wish is to continuously grow as a learner and educator, along with his students and all who surround him.
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Arlyn Sharpe :: asharpe@sileducation.com
instructor of Social Studies & English
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Casey Hollister :: chollister@sileducation.com
Instructional Coordinator
Instructor of Science, English & Mathematics
Casey Hollister is a teacher in both the science and English departments and serves as our Instructional Coordinator. She works closely with our administrators and Department Chairs to ensure a student-centered approach, and is a resource for our teachers.
She holds a Masters Degree in Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education, where her work focused on student-oriented curriculum and generative learning. Casey is an experienced teacher with a background in education consulting and teacher professional development. She has a profound respect for the role of the learner in education, and she brings insight into how learners build understanding and how powerful instruction can stimulate best thinking.
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Ethan Halter :: ehalter@sileducation.com
Foreign Language Co-Department Chair
Instructor of English, Social Studies & Spanish Language
Ethan graduated from Oberlin College with a B.A. in Comparative Literature and Religion. There he studied Spanish Literature, American Literature, and Modern Western Religious Philosophy. After graduating, Ethan moved to California to become a Teaching Fellow. He received an Americorps award to teach high school English in Oakland, California. He concurrently received a California Teaching Credential in English from San Francisco State University.
In addition to teaching English, Social Studies, and Spanish, Ethan is central to our curriculum re-design efforts. Ethan’s passion for teaching is rooted in his overarching belief in the transformative power of literacy, of the ability to step outside of one’s hodiernal circle and peer back inward. He believes that it is the teacher’s job to--through Socratic dialogue--lead, sometimes push, students to take such cognitive leaps. Ethan loves uncovering big ideas through the exploration of history, philosophy and literature. He especially likes Bellow, Keats, Unamuno, Woolf, Joyce, Marquez, Faulkner, Emerson, Thoreau, Borges, and Kierkegaard.
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Melissa Graeber :: mgraeber@sileducation.com
English Department Chair
Instructor of English
Melissa Graeber was first introduced to the world of “alternative education” at the age of nine, when she was selected to join the experimental--and publicly funded--GATE program, for the twenty most gifted and talented students from the San Mateo school district. In high school, she attended the alternative Mid Peninsula High School, where she graduated as valedictorian. Her experiences as an independently minded student in alternative schools underpins her democratic and patient approach to teaching.
She grew up on the Peninsula, more often than not in her father’s high school classroom, where her interest in pedagogy and educational theory truly began. Her father, a nominee for The National Teacher of The Year Award, remains her biggest influence to this day, though she closely follows the work of Washington D.C. school chancellor Michelle Rhee, and the educational theorists Mark Edmundson and Howard Gardner.
She has lived throughout the western United States, from New Orleans to Arcata, Santa Cruz to San Francisco. Melissa holds a B.A. in Literature from San Francisco State University, where she served as a Teacher’s Assistant for writing and literature classes. She plans to pursue a Masters in Educational Theory.
Melissa--as our English Department Chair--has been instrumental in the complete overhaul of our English curriculum, moving away from textbook-based learning and toward an online, living curriculum. She’s authored several literature courses--college prep, honors, and AP--and is an instructional resource to other English teachers.
Whether it be examining the literary narrative of video games, demonstrating how music and literature have reinforced each other, or helping students to publish their original short stories, Melissa is dedicated to helping students discover their passion and talent through reading and writing (all while mastering the proper use of the semi-colon, of course).
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Michael Kahn :: mkahn@sileducation.com
Instructor of Social Studies & English
Michael Kahn instructs students in history, economics, government & English literature. Mike holds a B.A. in Political Science--with minors in History and Philosophy--from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. While in the nation's capital, Mike immersed himself in the D.C. political landscape, and worked for various campaigns and at a local talk radio station. He was the senior editor and a columnist for Independence Magazine, a highly regarded weekly GWU student publication.
After a decade in the legal profession, Mike made a move certain to shock the many teachers he'd once frustrated as a young student: he became a teacher himself. Mike's experience as an unfocused student--one who overcame his own limitations--underpins his compassionate approach to teaching.
“The first task for students--and their teachers--is to figure out how their minds work, and then to approach knowledge accordingly. Our one-to-one teaching offers a unique opportunity to engage students. I engage and challenge students however I can.”
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Tenisha Armstrong :: tarmstrong@sileducation.com
Instructor of Social Studies & English
Tenisha holds an M.A. in History from Stanford University and a B.A. from the University of California at Santa Cruz. Of the many courses that she teaches, Tenisha cites U.S. History as her favorite. Tenisha lends her knowledgeable voice to her favorite aspects of U.S. History: African American history and literature, the history of women in America, and U.S. social movements of the 20th century. Tenisha wrote our African American History course, which we are proud to offer as a social studies elective.
For ten years, Tenisha has edited the papers of Martin Luther King, Jr. at Stanford University's King Institute. As Associate Director of the Institute, she was the lead editor of The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Vol. 5: Threshold of a New Decade, January 1959-1960 (2005) and The Martin Luther King, Jr. Encyclopedia (2008). She is currently editing Vol. 7 (1961-1962), which will be published in 2012.
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Will Juola :: wjuola@sileducation.com
Instructor of Social Studies, French Language, Latin Language & English
Born and raised in Minneapolis, Will graduated from St. Norbert College in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with a B.A. in French and a minor in History. He spent a year studying abroad in Lille, France--learning, traveling, and meeting extraordinary people.
As a peer tutor in college, Will discovered his desire to teach. His passion for teaching spans three disciplines: social studies, foreign languages (French and Latin), and English Literature.
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