By: Ella Thomas and Christine Wu, staff writers
With dreams of becoming an ecologist, Ms. Franzen never expected she would become a teacher after she went back to finish her degree in biology with a minor in entomology as she originally planned to work as a land restoration ecologist or an entomologist. However, after a classmate offered her a job working with high schoolers, she fell in love with Galileo and has been here ever since.
Ms. Franzen was introduced to Galileo by Mr. McDowell, the Health Academy teacher at Galileo, who was also Ms. Franzen’s college classmate. Mr. McDowell asked Ms. Franzen to help develop curriculum for the environmental science classes he was teaching, while Ms. Franzen was finishing up college.
After the contract to develop curriculum ended, the school offered Ms. Franzen a job as a paraprofessional, assisting students in science classes. Since she was still in school and the hours were flexible, she decided to take the job. She soon found herself really enjoying being in the classroom. The principal at the time, Margaret Chu, approached her and encouraged her to get my teaching credential. The principal said that she would really like to have her on staff as a science teacher. Ms. Franzen stated, “I honestly thought I would do it for a few years and then go back to land restoration.”
Even though she left behind her previous plans and goals, Ms. Franzen is happy she ended up with a stable job at Galileo as a teacher. She has been here for over 20 years, and has worked as a teacher in Biology, AP and Regular Environmental Science, Urban Agriculture and an Environmental Internship. She is currently teaching Marine Biology and AP Environmental Science. She has also taught night and summer school at other schools across the district.
Before she went back to earn her degree, Ms. Franzen worked in outdoor education where she taught outdoor life skills to inner city kids from New York and New Jersey, where she’s originally from. She also worked in the outdoor retail industry, including for companies such as REI and The North Face. She’s happiest when she’s outside and is grateful for the opportunities Galileo has given her to be able to continue that with field trips. The Farallon Islands, and Alcatraz Island are class favorites.
