Robin Austin teaches second grade at Oakwood Elementary. She just finished her 19th year of teaching—all but one of those years in the classroom has been at Oakwood.

Austin was born in Tucson and grew up in Phoenix. She started her career in another field—purchasing and logistics—but went... Read more

Amber Jenstad teaches fourth grade at Cortina Elementary. This is her seventh year of teaching at Cortina, but she was gone for a short while as she explored a different career.

Jenstad grew up in Arizona. She says she knew at a young age that she wanted to teach. Because of her passion... Read more

Estefania Garcia teaches third grade at Madison Heights Elementary. This is her fifth year teaching and her first year at Madison Heights.

Garcia went into teaching because she knew that she could make an impact on kids and the community through her work in the classroom. Garcia was born... Read more

Michelle Hampton teaches a second/third grade class at Queen Creek Elementary. This is Hampton’s 18th year in teaching.

While reading and writing were her favorite subjects when she was in school, Hampton says she enjoys math these days.

“I think my favorite subject to teach now is... Read more

Stacey Traylor teaches third grade at Navarrete Elementary. This longtime teacher has taught second through sixth grade, and has been at Navarette for the past 12 years.

She says she enjoys the third-grade curriculum, especially one of the “big third-grade skills,” learning to multiply.... Read more

Teresa Cabrera teaches fourth grade at Desert Mirage Elementary. This is her fifth year in teaching. She also did her student teaching in fourth grade, and says she enjoys this age group.

“They’re still fairly young but they’re starting to know themselves,” Cabrera explains. The kids are... Read more

Maureen Davies is the Gifted and Talented teacher for third- and fourth-graders from three Mesa elementary schools. Students from Entz, Field and Highland meet with Davies in cohorts once a week—on two days she teaches third-graders and on two days she has fourth-graders.   

Davies has... Read more

Karen Lock teaches first grade at Esperanza Elementary. She says she thinks she always wanted to be a teacher, even when she herself was in elementary school.

Lock really felt the calling to teach when she had kids of her own. You might even say, Lock loves to unlock kids potential!... Read more

Diana Perez teaches sixth grade at Rice Elementary. She has worked in various roles in Chandler schools, but this is her first year as a teacher.

“My love for teaching grew with working here with the kids,” Perez explains. She earned her degree in sociology intending to become a social... Read more

Molly Sanborn teaches second grade at Carlson Elementary. Sanborn has been a teacher for over two decades—this is her 23rd year of teaching. She has taught at the college level and worked as a reading specialist for K–3. 

Sanborn is a native of Mesa and says she knew she wanted to teach... Read more