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Independent Study

Karla Adair

Mrs. Karla Adair
Karla Adair
ISP Teacher
916- 714-1653 x51021
kadair@egusd.net

Karla Adair is an ISP teacher at Elk Grove Charter School. She began her journey at EGCS in 2006 and returned in 2019, after taking six years off to be at home with her child. Previously, she has taught 7th-12th grades in a variety of settings, including charter, continuation, and comprehensive sites. She appreciates the opportunity to be a part of EGCS because it offers diverse educational options to help students realize their full potential. She holds a teaching credential as well as a Master’s degree in English. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and reading.

William Brown

William Brown
William Brown
ISP Teacher
916- 714-1653 x51025
wmbrown@egusd.net

I grew up in a small town where teachers positively impacted my life. From the time I was fourteen years old, I knew I wanted to teach. After graduating from Chico State University with a degree in English, I started my career at Pierce High School in Arbuckle, California. After this, and a short stint at East Nicholaus High School, I moved to EGUSD in 1998. I have taught at Florin High, Pleasant Grove High School and now, for the past seven years, I have been teaching 11th and 12th grade Independent Study here at Elk Grove Charter. 

In my spare time, I like to read, do home improvement work and am involved in several classic car clubs. My wife, Jody, is a second grade teacher in the district and we are heavily involved in my daughter's high school. We also enjoy traveling and volunteering in the community. We currently own a home in Carmichael, California, and will live here until our daughter graduates high school. 

Charter is a wonderful place to work. The small size, coupled with excellent teachers, makes for a great environment. I have met and helped many wonderful students graduate and start their lives; Independent Study is an excellent way to work with students and I love that each day is different. I wish more schools could move to this model.

Joshua Burt

Mr. Josh Burt
Josh Burt
Art & ISP Teacher
916- 714-1653 x51026
jburt@egusd.net
 
Art has always been a part of my life. I took ceramics and photography classes when I was in High School. I attended Paso Robles High School and later Mendocino High School. I was very active in the ceramics community in Mendocino. I attended College of the Redwoods in Fort Bragg, CA and Eureka, CA, where I received my AA degree. I then transferred to Sacramento State to earn my degree in studio art. I worked as a studio potter through college and many years beyond, throwing pottery for Cloud's Porcelain in Folsom, and showing my own work in local galleries. I earned my teaching credential through San Francisco State in single subject art and started teaching at EG Charter in 2008. I have taught art and ISP at EG Charter for 12 years at this point. In the "before times" I taught digital art, digital photography, and general art. I now do my best to teach art through a computer screen, while not ideal, it is unavoidable at this time. 

John Camozzi

Mr. John Camozzi
John Camozzi
ISP Teacher
916- 714-1653 x51020
jcamozzi@egusd.net
 
John Camozzi is an ISP teacher for EGCS and has been teaching for 5+ years. John currently teaches all grade levels of ISP and uses his educational background of social science to apply relevance to all subject matters. Before switching to education John worked for 5+ years in consumer finance and credit analysis, but found a home in education when he got tired of the finance sales world and wanted to make real connections. John graduated from CSUS with a B.A. in Social Science specializing in 20th Century History. His field of focus in education is on college & career readiness and creating a field of lifelong learners who are ready for the constantly changing landscape of the 21st century. While John is new to Elk Grove, he has found a home here and you can usually find him in his garden losing battles to aphids

Tristan Church

Mr. Tristan Church
Tristan Church
History & ISP Teacher
916- 714-1653 x51022
tmchurch@egusd.net
 
I'm Tristan Church, a first year History/Social Science teacher at Elk Grove Charter School. I have experience teaching 7th-12th grades. When I'm not in the classroom, I'm reading, gardening, cooking, or playing video games.
 

Alli Conway

Ms. Alli Conway
Alli Conway
Math & ISP Teacher
916- 714-1653 x51029
adconway@egusd.net
 
Alli Conway is in her 6th year of teaching Mathematics and her second year teaching at Elk Grove Charter. She attended Sacramento State and National University earning her single subject teaching credential with a Master’s Degree in Math Education. She was inspired by all the wonderful math teachers she had to teach math and inspire other kids to enjoy math as much as she did. When she is not teaching you can find her baking/cooking or spending time with all her farm animals. 

Carol Goodbrake

Mrs. Carol Goodbrake
Carol Goodbrake
ISP Teacher
916-714-1653 x51033
csignoro@egusd.net
 
I am Carol Goodbrake, teacher of “All Things” at the Elk Grove Charter School. I address whatever subject the student may need. I even have a tee-shirt that says, “Teacher of All Things.” On the front are Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat. I teach “all things” to “All Things.” I grew up in the Greenhaven area of Sacramento, near the Sacramento River which I loved. My mom was a teacher. But I ... I was a swimmer. Who needs a career? Who needs teaching? I swam for John F. Kennedy High School, the Greenhaven Swim Team, and eventually I was recruited to swim for the local college, and so felt obligated to attend two years, grunting out lap after lap in the musty indoor pool facility where I turned my head each third stroke, glimpsed gray concrete walls, and gulped down another breath of everyone else’s effluent. Here I proved my potential as a swimmer: I was about as mediocre as any random swimmer plucked from any random team: better than average, but not noteworthy. During this somewhat accidental phase of my life, I was somewhat accidentally hired by my college as a tutor within the English department and a swim instructor’s aide within the P.E. department. I alternately taught students how to form a workable thesis and then how to execute the perfect flip-turn for competition. In the midst of it all, not realizing I was being groomed to become a teacher, I earned my Associate’s Degree in Humanities and was accepted into UC Davis. Three years later, I emerged with little apparent damage, a couple Bachelor's degrees, and a couple teaching credentials. I was hired to teach English at Joseph Kerr Middle School. While living my life and experiencing all of the above, I married and began my collection of things in three’s. I acquired a husband and two sons, three cats and three dogs. I have now taught at three schools: Joseph Kerr, Harriet Eddy, and am delighted to be embarking upon my thirteenth year at Elk Grove Charter, the school closest to my heart and the school with the kids who prove to me every day that going into teaching was indeed the right path for me. 

Chin Son Kim

Mrs. Chin Son Kim
Chin Son Kim
English & ISP Teacher
916- 714-1653 x51024
ckim@egusd.net
 
Chin Son Kim is a Middle School English, 11th and 12th grade Advocacy Teacher for EGCS. Of her 15 years of teaching, she has been with EGCS for a total of 9 years, with 3 years in between teaching Kindergarten in the Bay Area. She earned her B.A. and teaching credential at Sacramento State University. When she isn’t in the classroom, she loves spending time with her husband and 3 children, good eats, mini vacations, and helping her Korean community.

Victoria Pontes

Mrs. Victoria Pontes
Victoria Pontes
English & ISP Teacher
916- 714-1653 x51028
vpontes@egusd.net
 
Victoria Pontes is an ELA teacher at Elk Grove Charter School. Previously, she has taught 7th-12th grades in Oakland, Walnut Creek, and South Natomas. During her time teaching, she has specialized in new technology implementation by attending conferences, working on district-level technology teams, and achieving Level 2 Google Certification. She is driven by the opportunity to give students a voice in the classroom and help them gain ownership over their education and learning styles. Outside of work she loves to cuddle with her 3 cats, do crafty things such as scrapbooking or knitting, and read everything from comics to long novels!

Melissa Wade

Mrs. Melissa Wade
Melissa Wade
ISP Teacher
916- 714-1653 x551023
mewade@egusd.net

I have been teaching for 13 years and have been at Elk Grove Charter for 8 years. I teach 9th grade Health and Focus on College and Career. I also teach 10th grade College and Career Seminar and 11th and 12th grade Independent Study. I enjoy spending time with my family. I have 3 kids a son and two daughters.