I was born in Trenton, New Jersey but moved at least nine times in my youth. My grandparents immigrated from Sicily, but sadly, I do not speak Italian. I’ve been teaching at Scotts Valley Unified School District for 29 years. I started at Vine Hill as a fourth grade teacher. After three years, I moved to the middle school and have taught all grade levels here, but mostly eighth grade English, which I love. My wife, Melissa, is a successful teacher at San Lorenzo Valley Middle School, and my daughters Alicia (21) and Sophia (19) are successful college students. Besides my family, bike riding is my passion, and I have been enjoying the sport seriously since I was fourteen. I’ve ridden from Canada to California twice and participated in all of the SVEF century rides when that was a fundraiser here. A dream of mine would be to visit France and ride some of the mountainous routes of the Tour de France. Students may know that I am obsessed with Ray Bradbury, especially his novel Fahrenheit 451. It has been an honor to share it with so many students throughout the years, and I hope that its message continually resonates with all of those who read it.