Human Physiology and Biology English Language Learners (ELL) teacher Melissa Kalis is a Tracy High alumnus and graduate of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program. She loves interacting with her students and being able to teach them new material. Her biggest priority is spending time with her family and she is currently expecting her second child with her husband, Tracy High math teacher Phil Kalis.

What is the best thing about teaching at Tracy High? “I love the staff and students. It is such a supportive campus and feels like a second family to me and I think a lot of that has to do with the camaraderie of the staff and the enthusiasm of the students.”

What is the most challenging part of your job? “I think there are two challenging things for me.  The first is BALANCE.  Being able to balance spending time educating my students through lectures/labs/activities, providing meaningful grading and feedback on assignments, providing assistance after school, and lesson planning for future activities is extremely challenging and I think sometimes people forget how much time we actually spend working for our students. It is completely worth it but it is challenging.  The second most challenging thing for me is keeping my students MOTIVATED to excel.  We are competing with a highly technological, entertaining world whose mantra these days seems to be ‘if it’s not instantly gratifying, it’s not worth your time’ and that is just not true but it sometimes feels like teachers are battling against that mantra every day, trying to maintain the interest and motivation of their students.”

If you could change something about education, what would it be? “I think I would change the way teachers are expected to educate, and I would change the way student knowledge was measured.  While I do believe the state standards are important because they provide guidelines and accountability for educators, I also think the state tests are not measuring our students’ true understanding and intelligence.”

What are your hobbies? “My hobbies are spending time with my family. I absolutely love my family time with my almost-two-year-old daughter, Lily, and my husband, Phil.  We enjoy being outdoors and doing things together.  I also personally enjoy reading and doing craft projects.”

What is your idea of a perfect day? “My perfect day is doing anything with my family, it is really that simple. As you get older, you realize how important it is to make people a priority in your life and not necessarily what you do, just that you do it together.”

What was it like being a student at Tracy High and now coming back to be a teacher? “It was a bit strange at first when I initially began my teaching career, but I’ve gotten used to it now and I consider it a privilege to work beside my mentors. I respect them so much for what they have taught me and it is wonderful to have so much support and encouragement from them.”

Where did you go to college? How did it impact you? Did you enjoy going there? “I went to UC Davis for my undergraduate degree and teaching credential.  I loved it there.  The UC Davis campus is beautiful and expansive and the town was very accommodating for college students. College was challenging for me because I was not a very well balanced person at that age.  I was hyper focused on my academics, but didn’t give myself a lot of room to be social or creative and college is a place with many opportunities to do those things, so I sort of look back and wish I had let myself lighten up a bit academically and explore other things that interested me.”

Where is your favorite place to eat? “Papa Urb’s is a favorite of my husband and I.  I always get the sisig fries because they are amazing.  I also love Taqueria Maguey and get the super nachos. I love Thai Cafe and get the salad kai.  (I am pregnant, so I love everything food related right now. You cannot ask a pregnant lady this question and not get multiple answers. Ha!)”

What is your favorite day of the week? “I love Sundays because I associate them with family days, even as a child my family always spent Sundays together.  We often go out to the soccer field or go do something together outside and have a lot of family dinners on Sundays.”

What motivates you? “I have always been a pretty self-motivated person but now I am very motivated by my daughter.  I want to teach her how to be self-reliant and successful.  I want to teach her how to love herself for who she is.  I want to show her what a loving family and loving marriage looks like, so she will be able to find the same for herself someday. I want her to be proud of what her momma does, so I am constantly motivated by her to be a better teacher, mom, wife, and individual.”

What did you want to be when you grew up? “I wanted to be a teacher!”

What is your favorite part of your classroom? “The students in it. Students make my day exciting, interesting, and different from one class period to the next and from one day to the next, and I love that about my career.”

What do you consider the most important thing you have done? “Being a mom is the most important thing I have ever done because there is this tiny little person learning from you every single day with a wide open mind, eager to learn.  My daughter is like my most attentive student, forever, and that is pretty important.  Having such a huge influence on another human being, knowing that you are helping to mold who they become is an incredibly important job.  Becoming a parent completely changes your entire outlook on life and priorities.”

What is your philosophy on life? How did you develop it?  “My philosophy can actually be pulled from one of my favorite Bible verses.  Jeremiah 29:11, ‘For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.  Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ My philosophy in life has become to live it the best you can day to day and then put your trust in God that He will take care of you.  You have to let go of the things that you cannot control and continue to move forward. I have experienced some great losses in my life and there were times where I felt so hopeless but as time passed, I was reminded of the many joys in life like falling in love and seeing your baby’s face for the first time and making new friends. I believe in hope and a future and this applies to all aspects of my life, including my career as a teacher.

If you could have something for your classroom what would it be? “I would love a class set of laptops or iPads for all of my students. That would be amazing!”