Former Ridgeview Middle School teachers have joined Redwood High for the 2025–2026 school year, bringing familiarity to students and embracing new opportunities for professional growth and connection with new students
By: Isabella Guijarro
The 2025-2026 school year at Redwood has ushered in a sense of familiarity for former Ridgeview students, thanks to a growing number of teachers from their previous middle school. While many educators have been part of the Redwood community for a few years, two new arrivals, Ms. Ainley and Mr. Siqueiros, are among the latest to join the faculty.
Photo courtesy of the Gigantea
Other familiar faces include Mrs. Baptista, Mr. Higareda, and Mrs. Braun, who teach a wide range of subjects, like english, creative writing, history, criminal law, P.E., and the link crew program. They all share a common fact: a history at Ridgeview.
One of the most common reasons for their departure from Ridgeview was new opportunities offered to them at Redwood. Most said Redwood was an opportunity to grow as an educator and experience new things.
Mr. Siqueiros said, " I feel that I left because it was an opportunity for me to grow in my field of being a teacher, of being an educator, to help me get to something down the line that's bigger than being a PE teacher."
teacher. Photo courtesy of the Gigantea
The years students stay here at Redwood also affect the relationships they build with each other. Some teachers said they felt two years in middle school was not enough time for students to get to know each other and intermix with other kids.
Ms. Ainley says, "One of the best things about Ridgeview is that it's so diverse, you have students coming from all different parts of Visalia, and it was very cool to see all the different cultures and dynamics. With that, too, we only have two years to get these kids to intermix and to learn from one another."
Photo courtesy of T.Tinker
Some of these teachers had been at Ridgeview since it first opened and had witnessed the school change and grow. This allowed teachers to change and grow as well, which means they can grow beyond Ridgview.
Mrs.Braun says, "I missed high school, and it was an opportunity for P.E and Link Crew, which I'm excited about. It was also an opportunity to challenge myself again."
Photo courtesy of A.Ceballos
Mr. Higerada says, " Teaching middle school takes a lot of energy, and like I told my work, I couldn't keep up as much as I wanted to; it wasn't as much fun as it used to be, so I felt like it was time to move on to Redwood."
There is a big difference between working with middle schoolers and high schoolers. Their maturity level is changing, and many find it easier to teach students of older ages compared to the 12-14-year-olds in middle school.
Photo courtesy of A.Ceballos
Mrs. Baptista says, "To be honest, when I got my teaching credential, I wanted to teach high school, and when I started, I thought that middle school wasn't going to work out for me, and I was right. I prefer high school students."
Isabella Guijarro
Isabella Guijarro is a three year member of the Redwood Gigantea and the managing editor. She is involved in the Academy of Law and Justice and apart of Mock trial. She wants to be a civil rights attorney after high school and plans on working for the paper for all four years of high school.
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