Faculty Members to Leave School at End of Year

The Science, Mathematics, Language, Physical Education and Art Departments will undergo staffing changes as a number of current faculty members leave the school.

Steve Cochran

Mathematics teacher Steve Cochran will leave the school after this year. He plans to move to Boca Raton, Florida and continue teaching at a high school there.

Cochran has taught at the school since 1990 and said that during his 20 years here that he enjoyed “fun times with the students.”

He has taught almost every math class offered by the school with the exception of the Math Mastery, Algebra I Enhanced and Math for CAHSEE courses.

“I’ll miss the students,” Cochran said. “Because I hang out with them all day. It’s what I do.”

Therese Ducharme

Mathematics teacher Therese Ducharme will leave the school after teaching Algebra I, Math for CAHSEE and freshman AVID for two years.

Following her departure from LAHS, Ducharme has tenuous plans to look for a job in business or curriculum development.

“I don’t know [what I’ll be doing in the future] yet,” Ducharme said. “I haven’t really been looking because there’s too much to do right now.”

Ducharme said the things she will miss the most are the kids and teachers at LAHS, which she called a “great place.”

“I really love the people I work with and that’s going to be the hardest thing for me to leave,” Ducharme said.

Seth Leslie

Assistant Principal Seth Leslie will not be returning to the school next year. Leslie does not plan not to pursue another school position and instead will spend more time with his family.

Principal Wynne Satterwhite said that she appreciates the knowledge that Leslie has contributed to the school.

“Mr. Leslie brought a lot of expertise [to his job],” Satterwhite said.

Leslie said he enjoyed his time on staff this school year.

“Working at Los Altos High has been a great experience for me,” Leslie said. “It has been my privilege to serve the students and families over the last nine months.”

John Payne

PE teacher John Payne will work next year as the Athletic Director at Mountain View High School.

This year, he taught two freshmen PE classes and three sophomore PE classes. Having coached football at the school for four years and directed strength conditioning for two years, Payne said he will miss his students and athletes as well as his colleagues.

“Especially the guys I play cards with at lunch, I’m going to miss all of them,” Payne said.

David Roberts

Photo teacher David Roberts will move to Los Angeles in August to teach at a private school in downtown Los Angeles and to try and pursue his master’s degree in art.

He has taught Photo I and Photo II at the school for two years and has taught for a total of six years. Roberts said his fondest memories of teaching at the school include building connections with his students.

“The students have just been wonderful and very endearing [with] amazing personalities,” Roberts said. “I’ve had a blast this year purveying my love of art and photography to them.”

Roberts said the students are what he will miss most.

“I’ve actually been getting a little teary-eyed thinking about it because I’m probably going to cry on the last day,” Roberts said. “It’s just been a joy and an honor and a pleasure to teach them.”

Suzanne Williams

Biology teacher Suzanne Williams plans to retire after the end of this school year. She is going to move to Idaho in order to be near her family.

She plans to spend her time working on her new five-acre property, taking care of animals and riding horses.

Besides tending to the farm, though, she will also work with the Fish and Game Commission, 4-H and Future Farmers of America. Although she will no longer be teaching officially, Williams will help local schools with biology labs and possibly host a science camp for her daughter’s play group.

Williams says that the thing she will miss is the interaction with the people at school.

“[I’ll miss] working with students, especially at-risk students and students who need tools to learn with,” she said. “[I’ll miss] my colleagues, ones that I work with really well like Ms. [Danielle] Paige. She’s like a daughter to me.”

Judy Yu

Chinese language instructor Judy Yu of Foothill-De Anza College will no longer be teaching at the school next year but plans to continue teaching elsewhere.

According to Yu, her fondest memories of teaching Mandarin at LAHS were the “good facilities” and that “students progress fast in Chinese here.” She would like to thank everyone who helped her as well as those she has not yet had a chance to meet.

“It’s never forgettable because teaching at LAHS is [a] very special experience in my life,” Yu said.