Mrs. O'Connor * English Department * Petaluma High school
The 2023-24 school year will be my twenty-fourth year at Petaluma High School! This year, I will be teaching Honors English 9, and our English Language Development classes, levels 1-4. I am also serving as the English Learner Resource Teacher (ELRT) for the site. Before coming to Petaluma High in the Fall of 2000, I taught in the Vallejo Unified and Old Adobe Districts. I have taught in grades 2-6 and 9-12 and have been a public school teacher since 1986.
I earned my Bachelor's degree in English and American Literature at University of California at Santa Cruz, and I completed my teaching credential at Sonoma State University while working in local schools.
This year, I will continue serving on the Executive Council as the High School Vice President for the Petaluma Federation of Teachers. I am also currently serving on the PCS ELL Committee, and am the Petaluma High School Site Council Coordinator.
When I have time, I like to read, garden, hike, camp, and visit family and friends in the Bay Area, New England, and Ireland. Some of my favorite camping and hiking spots are Mt. Shasta, the Adirondacks in upstate New York, and anywhere in the California redwoods. My community is important to me, and I enjoy doing what I can to make Petaluma a better place to live. One of my favorite volunteer jobs over the past several years was to chaperone the PHS Marching Band trips and competitions. I traveled with the band to Vancouver in British Columbia, Disneyland, and Chicago. During that time, I also served as the PHS Music Boosters Secretary and Bingo Fundraiser Co-Chair for the PHS Music Program. I have also spent many years as a Girl Scout leader and Petaluma Day Camp volunteer, and I was one of the original Valley Vista Garden Steering Committee members as well as its treasurer. My current favorite volunteer job is caring for my two grandsons, born in 2015 and 2020. :)
I have lived in Petaluma for over 38 years. My older daughter graduated from Petaluma High School in 2009 and from California State University, Monterey Bay with degrees in Global Studies and Creative Writing in 2013. She completed her Master's degree in Library and Information Sciences at San Jose State in 2019. My younger daughter graduated from PHS with the Class of 2013, and earned a degree in Social and Behavioral Sciences at Santa Rosa Junior College in 2015. She lives here in Petaluma with her husband and two sons. I am grateful to have a wonderful family with whom to spend my days.
I earned my Bachelor's degree in English and American Literature at University of California at Santa Cruz, and I completed my teaching credential at Sonoma State University while working in local schools.
This year, I will continue serving on the Executive Council as the High School Vice President for the Petaluma Federation of Teachers. I am also currently serving on the PCS ELL Committee, and am the Petaluma High School Site Council Coordinator.
When I have time, I like to read, garden, hike, camp, and visit family and friends in the Bay Area, New England, and Ireland. Some of my favorite camping and hiking spots are Mt. Shasta, the Adirondacks in upstate New York, and anywhere in the California redwoods. My community is important to me, and I enjoy doing what I can to make Petaluma a better place to live. One of my favorite volunteer jobs over the past several years was to chaperone the PHS Marching Band trips and competitions. I traveled with the band to Vancouver in British Columbia, Disneyland, and Chicago. During that time, I also served as the PHS Music Boosters Secretary and Bingo Fundraiser Co-Chair for the PHS Music Program. I have also spent many years as a Girl Scout leader and Petaluma Day Camp volunteer, and I was one of the original Valley Vista Garden Steering Committee members as well as its treasurer. My current favorite volunteer job is caring for my two grandsons, born in 2015 and 2020. :)
I have lived in Petaluma for over 38 years. My older daughter graduated from Petaluma High School in 2009 and from California State University, Monterey Bay with degrees in Global Studies and Creative Writing in 2013. She completed her Master's degree in Library and Information Sciences at San Jose State in 2019. My younger daughter graduated from PHS with the Class of 2013, and earned a degree in Social and Behavioral Sciences at Santa Rosa Junior College in 2015. She lives here in Petaluma with her husband and two sons. I am grateful to have a wonderful family with whom to spend my days.