Middle School Science Team

lewise2@sfusd.edu

Eric is a National Board Certified Teacher that has been on special assignment for the past nine years. Prior to this, Eric was a teacher at Mission High School where he taught Biology, Physiology, Health Careers, and Earth Sciences. Eric was part of Mission High’s restructuring into small learning communities and through that experience, learned to value collaboration with other disciplines as much as collaborating within science. Eric has also been instrumental in supporting the National Board Certification process in SFUSD.  

​In his 17 years as a teacher, Eric has developed his interest and skills in supporting ELLs in science, thinking about how to support students with special needs, and providing ALL students access to engaging and rigorous science content. In the past nine years, Eric has continued to support teachers across the district with improving pedagogy and helping to plan and create new curriculum. Additionally, Eric has worked to help bring resources to SFUSD teachers and students through collaborations with a variety of other institutions including (but not limited to) the Exploratorium, UC Berkeley, UCSF, SFSU, Cal Academy, KQED, and CSTA.

perezp2@sfusd.edu

Priscilla Perez joined the STEM team from Southern California where she taught 7th & 8th-grade science and the gifted and talented (GATE) student populations at Burbank Unified School District (BUSD) for six years. She studied Biology (pre-med) with a minor in Chemistry at the California State University of San Bernardino. She earned her M.Ed. in Learning and Technology from Azusa Pacific University. Before teaching, she became a Gemologist and worked as a jeweler for several years. That experience gave Priscilla the expertise to showcase, teach, and lead educators using 21st century technology.

Priscilla developed and implemented 7th and 8th grade NGSS science curriculum at BUSD. Units were enriched with technology and addressed all levels of Depth of Knowledge. In 2019, she organized funding from her community to develop an NGSS-aligned project based learning (PBL) unit--@Franktheclasstank. This reef tank enabled her students to learn about ecological sustainability using inquiry-based problem solving skills. Students learned proper lab research techniques and gained the knowledge and skills necessary to maintain equipment for their marine ecosystem. 

While a classroom teacher, Priscilla won the 2020 Masonic Teacher of the Year award for showing innovative practices and community involvement. As the science department chair, she created, promoted, and guided teachers through an innovative process leading to the integration of PBL with NGSS curriculum at her school. Priscilla is excited to be in this new role supporting SFUSD educators to close the achievement gap further and produce 21st-century lifelong learners.