LPS-Hayward Faculty

LPS-Hayward is comprised of an experienced and highly qualified team of teachers and administrators—all deeply committed to their students and the LPS mission. All teachers are credentialed in their subject areas.  Upon entering LPS, each student is assigned an advisor who acts as that student’s advocate and parent liaison throughout his or her four years of high school.

Principal - Lauren Klaffky
Lauren Klaffky brings tremendous experience and expertise to the role of principal at Leadership Public Schools Hayward. Previously, Ms. Klaffky has served as the Assistant Principal at Oakland High School where she led the design team for 9th grade learning academies. Prior to her position at Oakland Senior High, she served as the New Leaders for New Schools Resident Principal at College Preparatory and Architecture Academy, a small school at the Fremont campus in Oakland. Her focus at Architecture was on professional development and professional learning communities, with particular attention to the needs of English Learners.

Ms. Klaffky was an English teacher for six years, including three years at Mt. Eden High School, where she also served as an ELD instructional coach. Ms. Klaffky has also served as the Teacher Training Coordinator for UC Berkeley's Puente Project in Hayward.

Dean of Students - Omar Wandera
Omar Wandera grew up in the city of Oakland and attended Oakland Technical High School. During his tenure at Oakland Tech he was influenced by teachers in an interesting way. On one end he was motivated by teachers that took the time to help him, have faith in him, and get him on the right track. He was equally driven by those who told him he’d do nothing in life and showed very little support.  Through his school experiences he realized the importance of having someone on your side that believes in you and decided while in high school that he would model those that affected him in a positive way, and be the antithesis of those that did not.

Mr. Wandera continued his education at Norfolk State University in Virginia. While at Norfolk State, he participated in the Honda Campus All-Star Challenge Academic Team, was president of the Epsilon Pi Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., and made the Dean’s List. He went on to do his student teaching at Maury High School, and Azalea Gardens Middle School. After graduation, Omar taught at Lake Taylor High School and Azalea Garden Middle School. He then moved back to the Bay Area where he served as Academic Coordinator for the Holy Names University Upward Bound Program, Supervisor of Mentoring Services for Instituto Familiar De La Raza, and Dean of Students at KIPP San Francisco Bay Academy.  
The Dean of Student Life currently resides in his hometown of Oakland. During his free time he loves to spend time with his daughter, hang out with friends, and watch sports.    

Office Manager - Elizabeth Rivera
Ms Elizabeth Rivera was born and raised in Hayward.  She is a first generation college graduate, born to migrant farm-workers who settled in the Bay Area during the 1950’s.  Ms. Rivera is very passionate about supporting students in their educational endeavors, especially those coming from underserved populations such as her own.  She attended California State University, East Bay and earned a BS degree in Criminal Justice Administration with a minor in Psychology.  She received a scholarship from the Chicana/Latina Foundation of Northern California.  One of her most endearing moments in life is when she met César Chavez, founder of the United Farm Workers Union.  Ms. Rivera has a long history of working with non-profit organizations that assist high school students in professional development and obtaining success in college.  She has worked as a counselor at a group home, a college advisor, and most recently, for the Puente Project, and INROADS.  She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to LPS Hayward.  In her leisure time, she enjoys spending time with her daughter and her close-knit family.  Her favorite sport is hockey and she is an avid San Jose Sharks fan.

Technology Coordinator - Simon Gikanga
Bio coming soon!

School Counselor / College Counselor - Vanessa Goulart
Bio coming soon!

Coordinator of Enrollment and Academic Intervention - Heather Decker
Ms. Decker joined LPS in 2007 and is currently the Coordinator of Academic Intervention, Enrollment, and Community Outreach.  She attended San Jose State University and earned a B.A. in Psychology with a focus on adolescent development and a minor in Theatre Arts. Prior to working at LPS, Ms. Heddlesten gained experience working as a classroom counselor for students with emotional disabilities and taught theatre in their middle school special education classrooms.  Ms. Heddlesten enjoys spreading the LPS message through community outreach programs and assisting all students to be successful in reaching their academic goals.

Dean of Instruction - Yanira Canizales
Ms. Canizales joined LPS-Hayward in 2009 as the Dean of Instruction as well as the 9th grade Academic Numeracy teacher. While she is originally from Matagalpa, Nicaragua, she was proudly raised in Hayward. After graduating from Hayward High School, she received her B.A. from UC Berkeley in Social Welfare and Education. While earning her teacher credential and Masters in Teaching from the University of San Francisco, she returned to her previous junior high school to serve as a 7th grade Language Arts and World History teacher. She has also worked as a pre-school and 4th grade Bilingual teacher in South Hayward. Prior to working at LPS, Ms. Canizales worked at Melrose Leadership Academy in Oakland as an Assistant Principal while earning her administrative credential with New Leaders for New Schools. Ms. Canizales is passionate about ensuring that every child, regardless of circumstance, receives an excellent education.

TEACHING STAFF (by department)

English Language Arts & Academic Leadership

Rebecca Abeles
Bio coming soon!

Aidan Thiele
Aidan Thiele graduated from U.C. Berkeley with a B.A. in history.  He first joined the teaching ranks instructing English for preschoolers in Athens, Greece.  He then taught English at Edison High School in Stockton before joining LPS for the 2009-2010 school year.  Mr. Thiele has been working summer high school academic programs through the Quantum Learning Network since 2001, guiding students through an accelerated learning environment while creating a more positive academic outlook.  His experience working with students of different ages has shown him the enthusiasm and passion that teenagers bring to learning.  This year he is teaching 10th and 11th grade English and is excited to have the opportunity to transform the classroom into a place where students want to be.

Michael McCaffrey
Mr. McCaffrey has been with LPS for 4 years, and has taught 9th, 10th, and 12th grade AP English in addition to being the Lead Teacher for English and teacher coach. He is proud to be the Lady Royals soccer coach and one of the soccer club teachers. Before working at LPS Hayward, he worked for LPS Oakland and before that he was the Academic Dean and Lead English Instructor at the School Down Under in New Zealand. He spent this past summer working with Mr. Fauteux to facilitate at Harvard's Secondary School Redesign Institute, leading groups of superintendents, principals and teachers in rethinking their individual challenges from an instructional point of view. He graduated from UC Berkeley's top-ranked English Department in 2001 (B.A. English Literature) and Harvard University's Graduate School of Education (Ed.M.) in 2004.

Katy Pieri
This year marks Ms. Pieri's third year at LPS Hayward, where she teaches Academic Leadership and Creative Writing.   Ms. Pieri earned her Bachelor's degree in French and Linguistics at UC Davis, and then moved to New Mexico where she graduated with a Master's degree also in Linguistics, with a focus on Native American Language Revitalization. She moved back to California in 2006 after the birth of her son, Gabriel, and began her career as a high school teacher.

Taylor Allbright
Bio coming soon!

Celeste Hoffpauir
Bio coming soon!

Foreign Language

Sara Farrand
Bio coming soon!

Yasmin Navarro
Bio coming soon!

Mathematics

Michael Fauteux
Mr. Fauteux teaches Academic Numeracy and Geometry as a lead teacher at LPS- Hayward, coaches the boys’ soccer team, and serves as the teacher representative to the LPS board of directors. Prior to joining LPS, Mr. Fauteux spent two years in Rome where he taught math, worked as the school's athletic director, and served on the strategic planning committee with administrators and board members. He has also taught high school math at the Hong Kong International School in Hong Kong, and middle and high school math at the San Francisco French-American International School.  Mr. Fauteux has consulted with Boston public schools on creating video artifacts for teaching and learning and has spent the past 3 summers helping to facilitate at Harvard's Secondary School Redesign Institute, leading groups of superintendents, principals and teachers in rethinking their individual challenges from an instructional point of view.  Mr. Fauteux holds a B.A in History from Brown University and a Masters in Education from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education.

Rose Zapata
Ms. Zapata is in her first year at LPS and teaches Geometry and Pre-Calculus. She was previously a "visitor" of Texas where she received a B.S. in Education specializing in Secondary Mathematics from Baylor University (Sic 'em Bears!). While at Baylor, Ms. Zapata played Division-I soccer and was the starting center back for four years. She received the honor of being named captain her Junior and Senior year. While in attendance, she also worked with research team called "GEAR UP! Mathematics Initiative." This is a program that develops and delivers non-traditional mathematics lessons that gets low-achieving, middle school math students involved in the learning of mathematics. After her "visit" to Texas, she decided to move home to the East Bay where she fell in love with the ideals and culture LPS has to offer. Ms. Zapata believes that all students can be successful in mathematics, it just takes the right formula to hook them in.

Deepti Gupta
Bio coming soon!

Abel Maestas
Bio coming soon!

Jessyka Ramirez-Cabrales
Bio coming soon!

Science

Sam McCabe
Samuel McCabe is in his first year at LPS-Hayward and teaches Biology. He is a member of the Teach for America program and is also new to the Bay Area after moving here from Minnesota. He graduated with a Bachelor's in Genetics, Cell Biology and Development and a focus in journalism and mass communication from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He is excited to become a part of the LPS Family. Go Royals!

Michael Heffner
Mr. Heffner just joined the LPS Hayward staff teaching Chemistry for the 2009-2010 academic year.  He holds a B.A. in both Biology and Chemistry from Occidental College in Los Angeles.  After starting a career in the burgeoning biotech industry of San Diego, Mr.. Heffner made the switch to teaching and comes to us by way of Los Angeles.  While sad to be so far away from the surf, he is delighted to be a part of the LPS family.

Darren Tarshis
Bio coming soon!

Social Studies

Carmen Borbon
Bio coming soon!

Katie Messina
Bio coming soon!

Special Education

Candace Block
Bio coming soon!