Faculty & Staff Directory

Dellanira Alcauter (she/they)
Gateway High School
Spanish Teacher
Biography

Dellanira is super excited to join the Gateway community as a Spanish teacher. They were raised in Austin, TX and Stockton, CA before moving to San Diego for undergrad. They majored in Ethnic Studies and Communication at UC San Diego. They discovered their passion for teaching and education through Ethnic Studies and their work with marginalized communities in the greater San Diego area. In her free time, she loves hanging out with her dog Sage at the beach, writing poetry, cooking, and making art.

- Collapse
Alyssa Amabile
Gateway High School
Science Teacher
Biography

Alyssa teaches Chemistry and Honors Chemistry at Gateway High School. She studied Biological Anthropology at San Francisco State and received her Masters in Teaching from University of San Francisco. Ms. Amabile loves animals and the outdoors. She enjoys playing volleyball, hiking with her dog, cooking for friends and family, exploring new places, and trying new things. Ms. A loves everything about science and enjoys sharing that passion with others.
 

- Collapse
Ken Angelo
Gateway Middle School
Mental Health Counselor
Biography

Ken Angelo is thrilled to be the School Counselor at Gateway Middle School. After working as a crisis counselor for over 10 years at schools throughout the East Bay, Ken is looking forward to getting to know the students and families that make up the Gateway community. Ken spent eight years as a private practice marriage and family therapist before earning his school counseling credential at St. Mary’s college in 2012. Outside of school, he enjoys working in his garden, cooking with the vegetables he grows, listening to music, and rooting for the Oakland Athletics.

- Collapse
Therese Arsenault
Gateway Middle School
Math/Science Instructional Leader and Coach
Biography

Therese is a founding teacher at Gateway Middle School.  She currently works as a Math and Science Instructional Leader at Gateway Middle School.  She is an active member of Gateway Public Schools Board of Trustees and serves on the Facilities Committee. She graduated from Simmons College with a degree in nursing and from Elmira College and the Harvard Graduate School of Education with masters' degrees in educational leadership.  Therese is a member of the Exploratorium’s Teacher Leader Institute where she works as a mentor teacher to San Francisco science teachers.  When not working, Therese enjoys traveling, spending time with her two sons, and reading.  Originally from the east coast, she currently lives with her husband, David, in Petaluma.

- Collapse
James Ball (he/him)
Gateway High School
Humanities Teacher
Biography

James teaches ERWC (Expository Reading and Writing Curriculum- English 12) and Creative Writing at Gateway High. He completed a Master’s degree in Education from the University of San Francisco and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English. Before entering the teaching profession, James traveled throughout Europe teaching English as a second language and worked in a variety of professional fields, including wildland firefighting, emergency medical care, construction, account management and sales. In his free time, he enjoys outdoor activities such as cycling, surfing, and hiking.

- Collapse
Genevieve Baluyot
Gateway Middle School
Instructional Aid / Paraprofessional
Evan Bass (he/him)
Gateway High School
Math Teacher
Biography

Evan Bass is excited for the upcoming year at Gateway. He is teaching Algebra and sits on the School Leadership Team, overseeing Advisory and Student Life. Evan received his Bachelors degree at Macalester College in Minnesota in Communication Studies and Education. He is originally from Chicago, IL, but has been in the Bay Area for 15 years. Evan is married and has a daughter who keeps him busy. He loves sports, competition, and music, and stays involved with all of them during his free time. He also DJ’s, does photo booth and videography services as a side business.

- Collapse
Tommy Becker
Gateway High School
Art Teacher
Biography

Tommy Becker teaches Visual Arts II, Visual Arts 3 Honors and Intro to Video Arts at Gateway High School. He studied interdisciplinary arts as an undergraduate at the San Francisco Art Institute before receiving his Master of Fine Arts from the California College of the Arts in 2001. Locally, he has participated in the Bay Area Now Show at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and as a resident at Headlands Center for the Arts. His video work has been screened both nationally and internationally with recent presentations at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco; Echo Park Film Center, Los Angeles; Sydney Underground Film Festival, Sydney, Australia and Antimatter Media Arts Festival, Victoria, BC.

 

 

- Collapse
Anna Behrens
Gateway Middle School
6th Grade Humanities & Learning Seminar Teacher
Biography

Anna was born and raised in Redondo Beach, California. She attended Santa Clara University, where she majored in Art History and Communications. She began teaching English abroad in 2016 and then received her teaching credentials (Social Science and English) and master’s in teaching from the University of San Francisco. She is eager to share her love of history, reading, and writing with her students!

- Collapse
Justin Berthiaume
Gateway High School
Science Teacher
Biography

Justin Berthiaume teaches Environmental Science and AP Environmental Science, and led the creative team to design and construct the Gateway Garden. He has also taught Biology and Physical Science at Gateway. Prior to teaching, Mr. Berthiaume served for 7 years as a landscape architect and park planner for the National Park Service. He also worked as a professional musician and artist manager in Boston. Mr. Berthiaume completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Massachusetts, and obtained his Masters in Teaching from the University of San Francisco. His passion is everything science, everything music, and everything Earth.

- Collapse
Mina Bluethenthal (she/her)
Gateway High School
Student Teacher
Biography

Mina graduated from Gateway High School in 2016 where she was first inspired to pursue a career in Education. After receiving her BA in English Ed from Cal State Long Beach in 2020, she served with Americorp’s City Year in South Central Los Angeles. Mina has returned to San Francisco to pursue her Master’s in Urban Education and Social Justice at USF and began working at Gateway in January of 2022 as a 1:1 ninth-grade para while simultaneously completing her student teaching hours in a ninth-grade Humanities class at Gateway. She is excited to move up to 10th grade with her students and take on a bigger role in her last semester of student teaching so that she can obtain her ELA credential by the end of the semester. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, being in nature, and spending time with friends.

- Collapse