TJ grew up in El Cajon and graduated from Steele Canyon High School (Cougar Pride, Get Some!). He headed up the coast to attend UC Santa Barbara, where he studied History and poured way too many caramel lattes at everyone’s favorite coffee shop in town. While in Santa Barbara, he earned his Masters in Education and Teaching Credential through UCSB’s Graduate School of Education. TJ has spent the last handful of years teaching in a small Danish town on the Central Coast- bonus point if you can guess where. During that time he taught both middle and high school Social Studies, and launched a leadership program to welcome and support incoming freshmen. TJ works hard to create an environment in his classroom where every student is safe, known, and loved. He thinks that if we can do those 3 things, no matter what, students will be successful. He has been playing with Project Based Learning the past couple of years, and is stoked to be joining the HTM family to continue to stretch his teaching.
He is married to his high-school sweetheart, Becky, and in February they welcomed their twin boys, Zeke and Sam, to their family. Outside of school you can find TJ tinkering at his woodworking projects, snuggled up with his boys, exploring the great outdoors with his family, or sneaking in a coffee shop date with his wife during nap time. Ask TJ about his summer break when you see him- he’s got loads of good stories after 2+ decades of camping for multiple weeks every summer with his family!