My name is Valerie de la Rosa. I grew up in South El Monte. I attended Pasadena City College (and a few others) before transferring to University of California, Berkeley. I majored in English and Japanese.
Throughout college, I mentored at-risk youth with the YWCA and I volunteered as a language partner for students visiting U.C. Berkeley. I studied French in Paris and music design in Tokyo. I also taught courses with U.C. Berkeley’s DeCal program.
In 2010, I moved to Japan. I spent eight years running an international school, first in Nagoya and then in Tokyo. I learned a lot about teaching and education. Eventually, I ran company meetings, led workshops, and worked on the curriculum department.
In 2017, I was selected to open a school in Honolulu, HI. I worked tirelessly to complete renovations, obtain licensing, hire educators, and to find students. It was quite the undertaking but opening the school was a dream come true.
In 2019, I returned to Los Angeles to help my family. I began the internship program with LAUSD. I currently work in South Los Angeles. While the area is challenging for many of my students, children are children everywhere. They want to do good. I want to do right by them.
It is my ultimate goal to create a school that understands the various cultural backgrounds of my students and in doing so, am able to provide the type of education that benefits them and their families.
My personal website is: TheWearyEducator.com where I discuss current issues with the educational system.
My name is Joy Healy and I have taught elementary school and junior high, Kindergarten through 8th grade (with most of my experience in 1st and 2nd grade) since 2005. I grew up in Arcadia, CA. My experiences as both a student and a teacher have taken me to both urban and suburban schools, both public and private, across many different neighborhoods. These experiences allowed me to see a wide variety of school cultures, and also to see the inequities that our system perpetuates. Over the years I have deepened my understanding of why these inequities exist and persist.
I attended Occidental College in Los Angeles (“It’s a great day to be a Tiger!”), majoring in Psychology and minoring in Theatre. I played softball all four years, the first two on the mound, and the second two covering the third base corner. Following my time at Oxy, I attended Bank Street College of Education in New York City where I earned a Master’s Degree of Education, a New York teaching certificate, and learned a lot about progressive and constructivist education. Bank Street changed how I thought about, observed, and taught children. I am grateful for the teacher lens I gained there. I love learning and am continuing to do so as I pursue a second Master’s Degree at the Principal Leadership Institute at UCLA. Go Bruins!
Ever since I was little, I have wanted to know WHY things happen. I have found things that are “not fair” to be very difficult for me to accept. This childhood concern with fairness has grown into a passion and desire for equity and justice. I dream of a day where all children can get the things they need, both tangible and not, so they can have the space to dream big and then the resources to fulfill their own dreams.
Dina Jauregui is also an elementary school professional. Dina has experience in several elementary schools in Los Angeles County and has seen first hand how education varies from school to school.
Dina loves theatre and has performed in several plays around the city. She is an active member of the local community.
Dina’s passion is teaching schools how to communicate better with parents and with the community. Dina is dedicated to making Apricus Academy a place where families can find a place within the school and with the community. Her desire for outreach and partnerships will bring Apricus to the next stage of education innovation.
Apricus Academy 