Why I Give - Three Yellow Wood Teachers Share Why They Give to the Annual Fund

ROXY

I am the daughter of Cuban immigrants raised in South Florida and grew up very close to my culture. My family enjoyed traveling, so before I was an adult, I had been to Mexico, Argentina, France, and Spain, as well as several different states in the United States. I graduated from Florida International University in 2003 with a BA in English Literature and from there taught and traveled. I have worked in public, middle, and high schools and I've taught ELL to students in Japan. I spent some time in New Zealand and Ireland before returning to the USA to pursue a Creative Writing MFA in Washington. 

I started working at YWA in October 2014 after meeting a teacher there through a mutual friend. I was excited to work here, knowing I would get an opportunity to grow with the school and be able to really help students the way I hadn't been able to previously. The school's mission and passion mirrored my own. I have met so many incredible people while working here, amazing teachers, and people and students that have only enriched my life and knowledge. I teach English, History, and Spanish and spent two years as the first International Language department leader, helping to develop and support it as it grew. I am passionate about supporting my fellow teachers, our dedicated leaders, and advocating for our students. I believe in this place, its goals, its mission, its people, which is why I donated to the Annual Fund.

I work hard to be a dedicated teacher to my students and a compassionate and supportive comrade and leader for teachers. I believe in YWA's mission, in the school's dedication and commitment to education, diversity, understanding, and acceptance. Our students, our teachers, our leadership, our community are the reasons I continue to take pride in what I do here at Yellow Wood

Roxanna Teofanov

DEBRA

I started my career in public schools in Texas after finishing my degree in history at Texas Woman's University. I worked for many years in the Texas school systems before moving to the NW. I briefly taught High School in Seattle before opting to take a break from teaching in public schools. My passion is teaching in an atmosphere that encourages and nurtures a student's desire to learn at their own pace, focusing on the details that fuel their interests in learning. Yellow Wood Academy has been an amazing experience and has allowed me to have an opportunity to work one-on-one with students to ensure they are progressing with instruction that can be specific to the individual student.

Outside of work my husband and I enjoy spending time with our dogs, traveling, watching movies, and riding our bikes around the area. We also love to take day trips to the mountains to see the wildlife and scenic views.

Based on my experience with Yellow Wood Academy, and the way they care for the student body, I am excited to be able to help support this institution with my donation this year. I see the community support being used directly in the education of the students, and the ability to build and maintain an amazing staff.

Thank you Yellow Wood!

Debra Faw 

JOSEPH

Hi, my name is Joseph Tracy. I have a Masters of Science in Mathematics, a graduate certificate in Statistics, and an international certificate in tutoring. I am a geek fellow that has interests in everything from Dungeons and Dragons, data, Magic: the gathering, writing fantasy, and board games to swing dancing and poetry readings. 

 I have been in education in one form or another for 17 years. Starting with tutoring in high school in 2003 and to this point as a teacher at Yellow Wood. Over that time I have taught college, middle school, and tutored ages 7 through 96. It has always been a passion of mine to help the students that struggle. I have a learning disability and I was lucky to have teachers that didn’t think of that as a handicap but pushed me to be the best me I could be. I strive to do that when I teach. How I ended up here. I was teaching college back in my home state of SC the moved to a small company that planned to design an online platform for teaching. When that company failed I decided I needed a change. I had always dreamed of living in Seattle and opted to apply to everything that fit my fancy in Seattle. Yellow Wood was the place I felt the most kinship with immediately. Helping students one on one from tutoring over the years would really shine here and help the most. 

I chose to give to Yellow Woods Annual found because I want to see it help our kids the best we can. I also want us to be able to reach out to other kids that haven’t been able to attend Yellow Wood to give them opportunities they haven’t had to shine. 

Joseph Tracy

To learn more about YWA’s Annual Fund please visit this page on our website: Annual Fund