Ten new staff members joined the SummBears crew this year at Summerville High School, and it’s time to get to know a few of them. 

Kyla Hatler was hired as a Performing Arts instructor, teaching Drama and Choir courses. Hatler is known in the community for opening the Mountain Youth and Community Theater (MyAct).

“[MyAct is a] Performing family theater where the whole family can perform, meaning we try to serve all age groups in as many ways possible,” says Ms. Hatler. “It will be our 20th anniversary next year.” 

Originally she was concerned it may take a lot of energy when she started working here, but she finds herself going home being excited for what she and her students will accomplish the next day. 

Returning from a two-year break, Cassie Mason is back on campus as an instructional aide. She is rotating between classes as additional support.

Mason explained that her two-year hiatus from Summerville was due to personal reasons relating to her family. 

“Family and my husband’s job [was the reason she left]. We moved to two different states, Missouri and South Dakota, and almost Wyoming, but decided we wanted to come back home.” 

Mr. Hamilton joined the science department this year and is tasked with teaching Physical Earth Science, Biological Earth Science and Academy Science. It may be his first year here, but he is a veteran teacher with eight years under his belt. 

While he is not new to the profession, Mr. Hamilton is new to teaching at the high school level. Up until now, his experience was in elementary and middle schools. 

When asked the main difference between elementary and high school, Mr. Hamilton explained the benefits of teaching at a higher grade level. 

“You guys are actually wanting to sit down in class, and when I give an assignment, you ask questions.” 

Summerville is happy to welcome all of these new faces to campus.

While not on the Summerville High main campus, Molly Rose also joined the teaching staff this year. Mrs. Rose is teaching at one of the small necessary school sites, Cold Springs High School (CSHS), located in Long Barn, Ca. 

Mrs. Rose is a familiar face to many, especially those who attended Twain Harte Elementary School, as she taught there for years before joining the SHS teaching staff. 

Mrs. Rose has been wearing many hats this year. On “A Days” she works with smaller groups of students at CSHS teaching multiple subjects. Alternatively, on “B Days” Mrs. Rose heads the Adult Education Program, working with adults seeking their high school diplomas. 

Mrs. Rose is fitting in nicely and appreciating the small-school setting. 

“I’m able to work with a smaller number of students and give them more individualized help,” stated Mrs. Rose. 

The purpose of these out-lying schools is to serve students who need an alternative setting or, geographically, live too far from the main campus.

Other small necessary schools include South Fork High School, located in Twain Harte, Ca., Mountain High School, located in Pinecrest, Ca. and lastly, our continuation high school, Long Barn High School, in Long Barn, Ca. 

In the Math department, Mrs. Talavera has joined the team. She teaches Math 1A and Math 1. 

After graduating from Summerville High School, Mrs. Talavera obtained her teaching credential not long before she moved to Costa Rica. She and her family spent twenty years in South America, where she taught math. 

“I love math. I fell into math by default. A teacher resigned. Students had a national exam they had to pass that was worth over half of their grade,” explained Mrs. Talavera.

This year Mrs. Talavera is looking forward to being part of a team and working collaboratively as a department. 

“In elementary schools when you teach a single subject, you don’t have that option, so working as a team has been really neat,” said Mrs. Talavera. 

Mr. Rouse, ex Major League Baseball (MLB) player and new PE teacher joined the staff at SHS. Rouse is new to the education field in general, but has over twenty years experience coaching youth baseball. He is also the Athletic Director (AD) for SHS this year. 

When asked why he choose Summerville, Mr. Rouse shared that he lives in the area and has a daughter that is a freshman, so naturally he gravitated towards Summerville.

“Its a school that is on the smaller side and I feel like I can make a greater impact with the sports and in the athletic program,” stated Mr. Rouse.

Mr. Rouse is not native to Tuolumne County, but is native to Northern California, having grown up in south San Jose. Mr. Rouse attended college at Cal State Fullerton in Orange County and lived there for 18 years before relocating to Tuolumne County.

“I love this area—I love the mountains—I love the outdoors. I’ve always wanted to live in a smaller town with streams, lakes, trees. I love all of it,” shared Mr. Rouse.

BTC welcomes all new staff to the Bear Family.