County Teacher of the Year

Aptos resident Russell Bryan Love is the Santa Cruz County Teacher of the Year.

He is the lead teacher at New School Community Day School, which has a mission to help students in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District accept responsibility for their actions, believe in themselves and learn to set and achieve goals. The motto is: “Never give up.”

Love started there as a teacher and coach in 2010 and became lead teacher in 2015, specializing in science, biology, and physical education.

His main teaching credos, hewn from his own academic beginnings and experiences raising his three sons, are: Learn by Doing, Learn Together, and !No Aburrimiento Permitido! (No Boredom Allowed!)

He created New School’s Outdoor School & Character Development program, now in its seventh year and 12th iteration, behind those philosophies and New School founder Don Eggleston’s belief that “students aren’t supposed to sit still in classrooms for six hours a day.”

As coach of beach volleyball, basketball, soccer and now flag football, Love has led the New School Aztecs to 14 Monterey Bay Alternative Schools Athletics League championships in as many years.

He says none of the above would be possible without his wife, Kimberly Dawn Love, shoving him out of the house in the morning or the overwhelming brew of love and vibrant passion that swirls through their household where they live with their daughter, Dylan, son-in-law, Josh, and their three grandchildren, Jagger, Journey and Jett.

Before going into teaching, he worked in the corporate world, spending five years with ADP selling payroll service to small businesses. He is a graduate of UC Santa Cruz with his bachelor’s degree in literature and creative writing.

The award is one of several chosen by the Santa Cruz County Office of Education to recognize exceptional educators “who embody the values of our school community.”

“Each of these outstanding honorees has shown unwavering dedication and support for students’ success, both in and out of the classroom,” said Santa Cruz County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Faris Sabbah. On May 16, honorees received a plaque, and their names will be engraved in the Educators of the Year perpetual plaque at the Santa Cruz County Office of Education.

The other honorees:

Classified Employee of the Year: Jennifer Konicke, after school program coordinator and classroom aide, Pacific Elementary School, Pacific Elementary School District.

A Davenport resident, her responsibilities include aiding in mathematics instruction for 6th graders, a camp counselor, coordinating recreation activities, assisting in the Food Lab, substitute teacher, and offering support to special needs students.

Counselor of the Year: Soledad Hess, social emotional counselor, Mission Hill Middle School, Santa Cruz City Schools.

She has a passion for incorporating art, music and the outdoors into her work.

Administrator of the Year: Cristal Renteria, director of alternative education, Santa Cruz County Office of Education.

She is site administrator for six Watsonville-area alternative education programs for at-promise youth, where she deepened her expertise in restorative practices, social-emotional learning, trauma-informed approaches, and multi-tiered systems of support.

Community Partner of the Year: Woodstock’s Pizza Santa Cruz, which each year provided work experiences for three to five students in Special Education for over a decade.

A selection committee reviewed nominations using the California Standards for the Teaching Profession, the California Professional Standards for Educational Leaders, and these criteria: Ability to create a passion for learning, high expectations for all students, strong communication and collaborative skills, strong sense of values, integrity, and professional ethics, knowledge of subject and curriculum content, and commitment to the community they serve.