STOCKTON– If you have not noticed yet, there are many new staff members on campus this year.  More specifically, I want to highlight a new teacher on campus named Ms. Haase.  Currently 23 years old, Ms. Haase officially began her career as a teacher this school year, teaching freshman and sophomore English. 

Born in the Bay Area, she was raised in East Oakland and moved to Livermore when she was a kid.  After graduating high school, Ms. Haase went to community college for two years then transferred to Cal State Long Beach, where she obtained a bachelor’s degree.  She received her master’s degree through an accelerated program at UC Davis. 

Fun fact: She’s also half-Mexican, speaks Spanish, and has a cat named Lucky.

I was curious about what brought her to teach at Lincoln High.  Her answer was quite simple and straightforward as she informed me, “My mom’s family is from Stockton.”  Growing up, she attended many familial gatherings in Stockton which eventually led her to the opportunity of teaching here.  Ms. Haase describes, “Lincoln seems more progressive out of all the public schools here.  [The] students are really involved at school or in the community.  Everyone here is very community-oriented.”  She enjoys working with older students because they tend to be more independent.  However, her students treat her a little bit differently, which has its pros and cons.  Due to her young age, students have simultaneously viewed her as both a teacher and their friend, causing them to be unable to distinguish between what is and is not appropriate.  Despite this, Ms. Haase understands how affected these students were from the COVID-19 pandemic, where they suddenly went from elementary school to high school.  She adds that her kids eventually grew on her. 

As an English teacher who likes the subject, she thinks that it “gives more opportunities to make connections outside the classroom.”  Her primary focus is “to be culturally responsive, and try to include things that aren’t necessarily the main narrative you hear, [by] having more diverse sections of stories. I feel like high school students are the age group to introduce that to.”

In the distant future, she is interested in teaching juniors and seniors, as well as being a community college professor who teaches creative writing.  But for now, her career as an educator is just getting started and it all begins here, at Lincoln High School.