Staff

Ms. L Nolting, Stonebrae Elementary School Principal

Ms. L. Nolting graduated with her BA in Spanish from Holy Names College. After she received her degree, she returned to Holy Names to earn her Multiple Subject Teaching Credential. She earned her Master’s Degree and Administrative Credentials at Cal State Hayward. Mrs. Nolting has been working in education for 34 years, 25 years in Hayward Unified. She has taught grades 1, 3, and 4, Spanish reading and writing to grades 1, 2, 7, and 8, technology to grades 1 - 6. She has been an assistant principal at two school sites and a principal at three schools.

Mr. J. Chen, Youth Intervention Specialist

Mr. J Chen earned his B.A. in English from Peking University, his M.A. in Linguistics - TESOL option, single subject teaching credential in English and Mandarin, BCLAD certificate (Mandarin), and an administrative service credential from California State University, East Bay. He taught as an adjunct lecturer of linguistics, Chinese literature and language in the CSU and community colleges. He has worked in a variety of roles in public education. He was a high school teacher of ELD and Mandarin, a specialist in State and Federal programs, a high school vice principal in Oakland Unified School District. Currently, he is a Youth Intervention specialist in Stonebrae and a program specialist for high school English Language Learner programs in Hayward Unified School District. Mr. Chen hopes that the Mandarin Immersion Program will provide opportunities for our students to become more knowledgeable about people, languages, and cultures beyond our borders, which is critical to the success of our students in an increasingly interconnected world.

Ms. J. Chu, Kindergarten Mandarin Immersion Teacher

Ms. J. Chu graduated from University of California, San Diego with a BS in General Biology and Masters in Education. She received both a Multiple Subject and Single Subject Credential in Biology concurrently, and holds a BCLAD authorization in Mandarin. Ms. Chu has known she wanted to be a teacher since childhood, and began working in the classroom setting as a Classroom Teacher Assistant in 2007. After half a year of classroom teaching, this is her first full year of being a classroom teacher. She began speaking Mandarin at home as a child and attended Berryessa Chinese School from Kindergarten thru 8th grade. Ms. Chu then took Mandarin language classes for three years at Mission San Jose High and for one year at University of California, San Diego. She is currently a Kindergarten Teacher in Stonebrae's Mandarin dual language immersion program. Ms. Chu hopes that being in the Mandarin program will allow her students to gain a wider perspective of the world and a greater acceptance of varying cultures. She hopes that her students will retain the language skills taught so that they can take advantage of every and any opportunity given to them.

Mrs. J Wicks, Kindergarten Mandarin Immersion Teacher

Mrs. J Wicks is currently a Kindergarten Dual Immersion teacher at Stonebrae Elementary in Hayward, California. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in geology and another BS in Elementary Education from the University of Oregon. She has a Multiple Subject credential with bilingual authorization. Since earning her BS in Elementary Education, she has been teaching for the last 20 years. Most of her career has been spent in the primary grades with the last 6 in Kindergarten. Mrs. Wicks learned to speak Mandarin when she went to grade school in Taiwan and 2 more years of university level Mandarin instruction. Teaching a Dual Language Immersion class is a very interesting and challenging job because of the progress the children make from the beginning of the school year to the end. Mrs. Wicks has had attended many professional workshops for dual immersion classes and she collaborates with colleagues. It is her hope that the Mandarin program progress through the entire K-12 grades in Hayward and the students appreciate being bilingual/biliterate.

Mrs. L Chen, First Grade Mandarin Immersion Teacher

Mrs. L Chen is a native from Taiwan. She earned her BS in Education from Taitung Teachers College in Taiwan, and Master Degree in Music Education from Holy Names University, Oakland, California. Mrs. Chen has taught elementary schools in Taiwan and here in California for more than a decade. Currently, Mrs. Chen is a First Grade Mandarin Immersion Teacher. Mrs. Chen enjoys working with young children and learning something new from them every day. She believes that through the Mandarin Immersion program, our students not only will be more competitive but also increase the awareness of peace and humanity in the global community.
Ms. C. Lin, First Grade Mandarin Immersion Teacher
Ms. Lin attended and received her California Teaching Credential seven years ago from San Francisco State University and has been a first grade teacher ever since. She also has a Bilingual credential in Mandarin. Ms. Lin was born in Taiwan and moved to the United States with her family in 7th grade. Ms. Lin hopes to inspire her students to love knowledge and to have a desire to keep on learning Mandarin.

Mr. K Chen, Second Grade Mandarin Immersion Teacher

Mr. Kenneth Chen graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering at University of Michigan and an MS in Bioengineering at University of Pennsylvania. After he received his degrees, he worked several years as a hardware design engineer in Silicon Valley. He then earned his Multiple Subject Teaching Credential at San Jose State University. He now holds a clear credential and also a Child Development Site Supervisor Permit. Mr. Chen has been working with children for more than 20 years, and has been working as a full time classroom teacher since 2007. He currently teaches a 2nd grade English-Mandarin Dual Language Immersion class in Stonebrae. Mr. Chen was born in Beijing, China and grew up in Hong Kong. He has studied in Australia before coming to the United States. Mr. Chen wants to help all his students reach where they need to be - intellectually, emotionally, and socially.

Ms. G. You, Second & Third Grade Combo Mandarin Immersion Teacher

Ms. G. You graduated with her BA in Psychology and Child and Adolescent Development at San Jose University. After she received her degree, she worked for several years with children diagnosed with autism before returning to her alma mater to earn her Multiple Subject Teaching Credential. Ms. You has been working with children since she was a child herself, and has been working in the role of a classroom teacher since 2008. She currently teaches a 2/3rd grade combination class in Stonebrae's Mandarin dual language immersion program. Mandarin is the primary home language during her childhood, supplemented by Chinese school and later college courses. Ms. You hopes that all of her students experience open-mindedness towards other cultures, the ability to speak Mandarin fluently, and an interest in Chinese language, history, and customs.

Ms. Y. Da, Third and Fourth Grade Combo Mandarin Immersion Teacher

Ms. Y Da was born and raised in Shanghai, China. She received her K-12 education in Shanghai, and her B.A. and M.B.A. in the US. Before finding her calling in education, she worked in corporate finance in Silicon Valley for many years. She received her teaching credential training from San Jose State University. In 2010, Ms. Da joined the Stonebrae Mandarin Team as a kindergarten teacher. In the 2011-2012 school year, Ms. Da teaches the dual immersion 3rd and 4th grade combo class. Ms. Da holds a Multiple Subject Teaching Credentials (K-8), Single Subject in Mandarin (K-12), and Mandarin BCLAD credential in multiple subjects (K-8). She loves children and enjoys teaching. Her goals in teaching are to help students reach their potentials and to obtain both academic and life skills. She believes that such dual immersion program will educate future global citizens/leaders that will serve the international community as cultural ambassadors.

Mrs. D Murayama, Mandarin Specialist

Mrs. D Murayama is a life-long educator, having taught for more than twenty years in Taiwan and the United States. Born in Taiwan, she worked as a kindergarten teacher, church music minister, school director and founder. During this time, she published three children music textbooks. In 1990, Mrs. Murayama moved to the United States in pursuit of higher education. After attaining her BA Degree in Music and Master Degree in Music Education from Holy Names University in Oakland, CA, she joined the Hayward Unified School District as a Kodály and Orff Music Education Specialist in 1996. Mrs. Murayama has Multiple Subject Credential, Mandarin BCLAD, Music Single Subject Credential, GATE Certification and an Administrative Credential. She has been involved in the Mandarin Immersion Program for many years as a parent volunteer at Stonebrae Elementary. Beginning in October 2011, Mrs. Murayama is the FLAP Grant Mandarin Specialist, Alameda County Office of Education and works at Stonebrae Elementary School where she enjoys working with students and parents. Her mission is to support the Mandarin Program and its teachers as well as providing the best in education and quality services to the school and community. On the weekend, Mrs. Murayama is a volunteer staff member at Fremont Chinese School and also serves as a volunteer church pianist at a local Chinese congregation. Her future plans include pursuing a PhD in Education.