Pathway to Teaching Team

Kristin Smith Alvarez, Ph.D., Supervisor

Kristin has worked in education for 20 years, both in K-12 and higher education in California, Michigan, New Jersey, and New York. She began her career as an elementary literacy tutor in Los Angeles, which then led her to become a high school teacher in New Jersey. Kristin holds a Ph.D. in Teaching and Teacher Education from the University of Michigan. She has spent the last twelve years of her career focusing on teacher and principal preparation. Kristin lives in Oakland with her husband and two young children, and her favorite place is the beach (any beach!).

Danielle Love, Policy & Operations Manager

Danielle began her career as an educator in New York City, and has been happily back on the West Coast, working in education in the Bay Area for the past 10 years. In addition to her work in education, she has also worked and volunteered in local and national politics. Danielle holds a Master of Science in Teaching from Pace University and a Master of Public Policy from the Goldman School at the University of California, Berkeley. Go Bears!

Hillary Kolodner, Instructional Manager

 This is Hillary's fifth year as a Pathway coach, supporting both multiple subject and special education teachers in every grade ranging from PK-8. Hillary started teaching in Brooklyn, New York, where she also received her Master's in Teaching from the Relay Graduate School of Education. She was then a founding literacy teacher at KIPP Excelencia Community Prep in Redwood City, and served as a founding member of KIPP's Culturally Responsive Pedagogy Working Group. She's also designed the Safe and Supportive curriculum resources for the summer Pre-Service Preparation program, revised the online coursework and testing strategy, and served as the edTPA testing coordinator. She most recently completed her Master's in Educational Leadership and Administraton from UC Berkeley's Principal Leadership Institute and served as a summer site administrator for Pathway's Pre-Service Preparation program. When she is not working, she loves exploring the West Coast by hiking and camping with her dog and friends.

Andrea Arechandieta, Bilingual Instructional Coach

Rea is a dedicated educator who has been working and teaching in the Mission for 10 years and loves being a part of this community. She is a passionate Bilingual educator dedicated to developing biliteracy and solid reading foundations for students. This year Rea transitioned into a role as a full-time Pathway coach and this will be her fourth summer as a teacher educator. She is so grateful to work with and learn from the amazing Pathway teachers in her cohort. In addition to Pathway, Rea also works with new teachers at SF State, where she is a faculty lecturer in the graduate Department of Education.

Tessa Artale McGovern, Bilingual Instructional Coach

Before joining the Pathway school year team, Tessa taught 2nd, 4th and 5th grade Spanish Immersion at Daniel Webster Elementary for the last 7 years. She is passionate about bilingual education, equity-centered instruction, and building meaningful relationships with students and families. Tessa is a member of the Teacher Leader Fellowship and has facilitated a lesson study team exploring patterns of participation, equity of voice, and high-leverage instruction in the math classroom.  When she's not teaching she coaches a Girls on the Run team and volunteers as a Winter Wildlife Docent in Pt. Reyes National Seashore.

Julia Kaplan, Bilingual Instructional Coach

Julia been a Spanish bilingual coach on the Pathway team since 2019. Before joining Pathway, Julia taught Pre-K, K, and 1st grade in SFUSD for three years. Prior to entering the district, Julia was an educator in Chicago Public Schools for four years. In 2019, Julia received National Board Certification in Literacy. Julia loves working with adults and children, and is especially interested in how children learn to read.

Christine Klein, Bilingual Instructional Coach

Most recently, Christine was the Interim Principal of Spring Valley Elementary School. Before that, she was Spring Valley’s Instructional Reform Facilitator and a 3rd Grade Spanish Bilingual Teacher. Additional roles in SFUSD have included working with Pathway on a variety of committees, as well as being a Teacher Educator and an Assessor for PSP. Christine joined San Francisco Unified five years ago after working in Portland Public Schools as a Spanish Immersion Teacher and Instructional Coach for 9 years. Christine’s purpose in education continues to be advocating for native language rights and equitable resource allocation and support for teachers, students, and families that are learning English. She loves to travel, explore the city with her partner and three children, and eat brunch. 

Janet Miller, Special Education Instructional Coach

Janet has been a coach for mild/moderate special education with Pathway to Teaching since 2018. Prior to coaching she worked as 6th grade RSP at Oakland Military Institute, and prior to that, across settings at Herbert Hoover Middle School. Janet received her National Board Certification in 2019, and also holds an Master of Arts in Special Education from SF State University. When not working on education related pursuits, she enjoys spending time with her family, friends, and menagerie of pets.

Shendi Xu, Special Education Instructional Coach

Shendi began her career in education as an ELD (English Language Development) tutor in a newcomer high school in New York City and has since worked in multiple university settings, an ed non-profit, and secondary public schools for over 10 years. Most recently, she was an RSP (resource specialist) and SDC (special day class) teacher at Francisco Middle School, where she completed the Pathway program and cleared her credential. Shendi holds a BA in English and American Literature from NYU, which informs her persistent passion for foundational literacy, textual analysis, and argumentative writing. She is a proud 1.5-generation Chinese American, intersectional feminist, and forever Jersey girl committed to personal transformation and mandatory fun. Talk film, television, and personality tests with her anytime, and definitely invite her to karaoke!