CE Rose K8

Pat is only in his fourth year at C.E. Rose K-8, but he has earned himself and the school national recognition within that short time. Besides being the Technology teacher, Pat is also the e-Sports coach. He has led his students to two national championships for Super Smash Bros and finished in the Final Four three separate times for Rocket League. 

They have also won the University of Arizona e-Sports Invitational twice and won at a GCU Open. The students routinely play against high school teams and a student last year even played at the collegiate level. 

The former IT executive loves being part of this new wave of e-Sports in schools, particularly as it is a way to keep students engaged at school while still providing them with tech opportunities, which can lead to post-secondary scholarships.

Looking at Linda, some may not realize that she is a third place Brazilian Jiu Jitsu World Champion. It may seem like an odd mix – teaching while being a world-class athlete – but Linda always knew she wanted to be in the classroom. 

The 1st grade teacher comes from a family of multi-generational educators, all of which taught in Tucson Unified. Linda herself grew up going to TUSD schools: Johnson Primary, Robison Elementary, Booth Fickett K-8, and Tucson High. Funny enough, Linda’s mother completed her student teaching at C.E. Rose, where Linda would come to be. 

“I come from a long line of teachers and educators in my family, so I knew right away I loved being in school, being in the classroom,” Linda said. “[I was] just really encouraged to always become a teacher and give back to my community.” 

Ricardo is in his third year working as a school monitor at C.E. Rose K-8. While he has extensive experience working at local schools, this is his first school in Tucson Unified and the first K-8 for him. 

Ricardo loves the work he does because he is able to intermix with the students and learn from them as well. He loves it when students are happy to see him, and he has gotten to the point where he views all of the students as if they are his own. 

“This is a lot different than when you raise your own kids in your house because, instead of two or three kids in your home, here we deal with close to 700 kids,” Ricardo said. “So, you have to understand and deal with different attitudes of every kid. It’s interesting.”