Sequoia Union High School District

TIPS Program & Advisors

Vision Statement

The TIPS program provides new teachers with personalized support that equips them to provide high quality instruction to engage students and foster excellence for the unique student population of SUHSD.

See the TIPS flyer for more information about the program.

Brandman Application For TIPS Teachers

The Brandman form is for teachers who are participating in the TIPS program and want to obtain Graduate level units for work done through TIPS. This form is for 1st and 2nd year TIPS teachers only.

Brandman Form

TIPS Coaches

Erin Cespedes

Erin earned her BA in Social Science (emphasis in political science and international relations) from Chico State University. During her time there Erin taught at a local preschool and was a counselor at a summer camp in South Korea for American kids who lived on a US military base. She also studied abroad in Accra, Ghana and earned a minor in African Studies. Erin has always had a passion for working with youth, she volunteered at the local preschool when she was in 3rd grade, helped with sports camps in middle school, and served as a counselor for outdoor education in high school. However, it wasn't until after college while working a job in retail that Erin realized her passion could also be her career. She earned her single subject teaching credential in social studies from San Francisco State and was luckily placed at Sequoia High School for her student teaching. She has now been teaching there for 10 years. During her time at Sequoia, Erin has taught 9th, 10th and 12th grade history, IB Psychology and AVID. She served as Social Studies Department Chair for 5 years and participated in other leadership positions including the IB Equity Leadership Team, Constructing Meaning Leadership Cohort, and Sequoia's Site Council/SLT. Erin decided to deepen her knowledge and understanding of the school system and earned her preliminary administrative credential and a Masters in Educational Leadership from California State University East Bay. Erin lives in Redwood City and in her free time she enjoys traveling, cooking, hiking and spending time with her family. Erin is a new coach in the TIPS program and brings several years of professional development experience to the department. Erin loves teaching and is excited to help new teachers fine tune their practice.

Joe Ezrati

Joe has taught over seven years as a science teacher at Woodside High School, where he has spent his entire teaching career. He has taught Integrated Science in a SDAIE model, a mainstream model, and in a small learning community, which catered toward special education students. In addition to that, Joe has taught both regular biology and advanced standing biology. This is Joe's second year as a TIPS mentor, where he is assisting teachers in planning lessons and helping them develop better classroom management skills.

Cara Klackle (SpEd Coach)

Cara joined the district staff in 2011 after spending nine years teaching in the Sacramento area. Since then, she has worked at Woodside High School as a co-teacher, Case Manager, and Department Chair. At Woodside, she was also a member of SDMC, Compass teacher and Coordinator, Summer School Principal, mentored newly hired teachers and developed the Rethinking Homework project. As a Special Education Instructional Coach, she is excited to share her passion for inclusion, accommodation, and support with all SUHSD staff. She is especially interested in the ways that she is able to inspire teachers and staff to make the small changes that have the biggest impact on students with disabilities.

Ana Ventura

Ana began at the Sequoia District as an Instructional Associate at Menlo-Atherton High School in 2007. Working with struggling 9th and 10th graders inspired her to pursue her teaching certification, and she quickly transitioned into a teaching role in 2008. Since then, she has taught various levels of 9th, 11th, and 12th grade English; AVID I, II, III, and IV; and Journalism I, II, and III. Ana joined the TIPS team in 2016, where she hopes to provide new teachers with the same outstanding support that she herself received as a TIPS participant.

Catherine Wachtler

During my 23 years teaching at Woodside I have most enjoyed working with freshman. I like the challenge inherent in welcoming and guiding ninth graders through their first year of high school as well as the reward of assisting in their exponential growth. Whether in on of my Biology, AIS, Algebra I or AVID I classes, the curiosity, enthusiasm and potential my freshman students bring with them every day remain the magnets that keep me attracted to teaching.

I have also been fortunate to work closely with many colleagues during my tenure, and it is from these relationships that I have experienced my greatest professional growth. My first team experience was with an inter-disciplinary group that created and sustained the Freshman Houses Program for many years. During that time, I also worked with an intra-district team to develop our district’s original Advanced Integrated Science course. Following that, I partnered with colleagues in the Students Offering Support Program to continue focusing on ninth graders through the Freshman Transition Program. For the past four years, I have teamed with AVID teachers to help hundreds of students get ready for college.

Being a TIPS advisor combines my two favorite aspects of teaching. I am thrilled to be working with “freshman” teachers who bring much excitement, creative ideas and fresh perspective to their new careers.