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I was born long ago in a galaxy far, far away (no, not really) at Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley, California. My given name, Sharareh Gina Ashrof-Eslami, was so long that most people couldn't remember it (let alone pronounce it). So, I was nicknamed Shari Eslami. This name worked well for me until I hit 5th grade, where other kids nicknamed me "Hairy Salami." Lovely.
I grew up in Palo Alto and attended Elizabeth Van Auken Elementary School (the site now known as Ohlone School) through the 4th grade. My 1st grade teacher Mrs. Griset totally changed my life. She is the person who made me want to be a teacher. Of course, up until that time, my greatest aspiration was to be a pirate! (There aren't too many good job opportunities out there for pirates, but I really liked the idea of having a ship and singing pirate songs.)
I attended Keys School in Palo Alto for 5th and 6th grades, and Hoover School for 7th grade. At that time, Hoover was a K-8 school located on Middlefield Road.
The summer after 7th grade, we moved to San Mateo. I graduated from Aragon High School and attended San Francisco State University for both my undergraduate and graduate studies.
I began my teaching career in Hayward, California teaching a 5th and 6th grade bilingual class. (I'm not bilingual so it was quite a challenge, to say the least.) I came to Palo Alto Unified the next year and taught 5th grade for two years at Nixon School. A veteran teacher's retirement gave me the opportunity to change grade levels at that point, and I moved to 1st grade. Since then I have taught both 1st and 2nd grades.
The only thing constant is change. After nine years at Nixon, I was ready for a change of scenery. When Barron Park School opened, I embraced the opportunity to be a part of starting a new school. I was originally the 2nd grade teacher. I became pregnant that year and knew that I wanted to reduce my hours after the birth of my son. Thus, I became the school librarian for four years and attended graduate studies at San Jose State University in the area of Library and Information Science. I had a lot of fun being the librarian and getting to know all of the children at Barron Park School, but I found that I missed having my own class. I was so excited to return to 5th grade!
I am married to a fantastic man, and we have three terrific children. Our daughter Jenna is a sophomore at Cal State Long Beach, our son Devin is a junior at Gunn, and our youngest son Jameson is in first grade at Barron Park. We have a dog named Brownie and two cats, Snaps and Yoda. We used to have two African dwarf frogs, but two years ago the cats ate them in the middle of the night! Yummy.
Every year I try to learn something new. One year, I took Italian (I've since forgotten most of it). Another year I did English horseback riding. I've also tried tennis lessons, sign language, ice skating lessons, and pilates. Over summer, I had an opportunity to do some deep sea fishing in Hawaii. Hmm. . . I wonder what 2006 will bring? My hobbies include playing the piano, cooking, hiking, browsing antique stores, playing with my kids, and, of course, reading.
I'm excited to be a part of
Barron Park Elementary School, and I'm looking forward to meeting
you!
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