Kōrero EAG, S3, E1 - Adam Woods & David Rhodes

Kōrero EAG - Start Local, Go Global

"See challenges as an invitation to innovate."

Adam Woods is moving into his 17th year of Science Engineering teaching at Segerstrom High School in Santa Ana, CA. Adam has spent the past 8 years developing and maintaining the first Aerospace Engineering Pathway in Orange County, which consists of 3 successive Engineering courses designed to better prepare underrepresented students for STEM majors at the college level. Adam’s passion for STEM education includes a deep commitment to leveling the playing field for young women pursuing Engineering or Computer Science. Adam has been a club advisor for “Girls Who Code”, “Sisters In Engineering”, and the Cal Poly Pomona “Femineer” program – all with the goal of closing the gender gap in technical professions. Looking into the future, Adam hopes to one day implement Environmental Engineering at his school site and create a synergetic Aerospace, Environmental Computer Science Academy.

David Rhodes co-presented with Dr. Mark Ellis at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) annual Boston conference regarding detracking the 7th-grade mathematics classes at Lathrop. Their presentation is titled "We Must Stop Sorting Students": One Teacher's Experience with Detracking. David’s personal qualities of being reflective and collaborative make him a good team player and student advocate. Understanding that one can never stop learning, he seeks opportunities to improve his ability to teach and demonstrates a strong responsibility for the teaching profession by mentoring teachers, parents, and students to not only advocate for themselves but always be learning.