Pathway Teacher Tzadakel Daniel Alonso

Meet Daniel Alonso Link to this section

Daniel joined SFUSD Pathway to Teaching in 2019 as a Bilingual Spanish teacher. Prior to joining the Pathway program, Daniel worked as a children’s bookseller and an after school literacy volunteer. Majoring in Zoology he worked a brief stint at the Oakland Zoo where he became interested in teaching youth about science and nature. Through his environmentalist work and a desire to change the world for the better, he pursued teaching. Daniel sees his role as an educator as an avenue to encourage his students to care about the natural world. Now, Daniel is a fully credentialed Pathway graduate, teaching 5th grade at Cesar Chavez Elementary School.

"PSP was a lot, but it was nothing compared to actually teaching. The program was easier than I thought it would be, once we got started. I very much enjoyed my PSP experience, and I met lots of great people. Though it was clear from that start that PSP wasn’t going to cover everything, our Learning Labs and Mini Courses were engaging and focused on the right material to get us started on a good foot at the beginning of the school year. 

My favorite things about Pathway are the focus on equity and social justice and the emphasis on restorative practices. The program holds central the idea that we must provide scaffolds for every student to ensure their success - something that is not universally held. I really appreciated this focus. I also really value the relationships I’ve been able to build with my students. The social emotional connections and partnerships that allowed me to make these connections with my students have brought me literal tears of  joy. I am often overwhelmed by how special these kids are, and I feel super proud to be a part of that."