Foreign Languages - Spanish 

I was born and raised in Costa Rica.  After attending Universidad Latina in Costa Rica, where I studied journalism, I began my teaching career in Guatemala.  In 1997 I was teaching at two different schools - in the mornings I would teach English to kindergarten and first grade students at the Bilingual Colonial School and in the afternoons would take on the task of teaching English grammar to fifth, sixth and seventh grade Colegio Boston students. 

I attribute my two years spent teaching in Guatemala as the inspiration for the rest of my teaching career.   The experience taught me the joy of teaching – the pure satisfaction of reaching children and helping them understand their surrounding world.  Today, I’m still in love with teaching and am constantly inspired by the students in my classes. 

My wife and I moved to the United States in 1999 where I began teaching Spanish at Prospect Hill Academy (formerly known as Somerville Charter School) in Somerville, Massachusetts.  At Prospect Hill Academy, I taught elementary, middle, and high school Spanish.   In 2003 we moved to Northern California where I was offered a position at Leadership Public Schools in Richmond, California.  Students at Leadership Public Schools were a diverse group of traditionally underserved urban youths faced with a very challenging environment.  I taught beginning, intermediate, and advanced-placement high school Spanish.  I also taught advanced placement Spanish literature and in 2004 was promoted to the Head of the Spanish Department.   

I decided to take a position at The Marin School in 2009 as I was drawn to the school’s mission and wanted to teach in a small setting where I could work more closely with individual students.

Working in such an intimate environment gives me the opportunity to really get to know my students.  In the future, my goal is to teach advanced placement Spanish courses at TMS. 

In my free time I paint and spend time with my two children, Santiago who is six and Clea who is four.  My wife, Kirsten is a labor lawyer for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.

Core Spanish classes and Elective Spanish classes