Faculty
Sarah Roggero
Sixth and Seventh Grade Spanish Teacher
With nearly two decades in education, Sarah spent 13 years teaching middle school Spanish in San Francisco. She loves telling silly stories, playing games, and learning new jokes in class before joining Black Pine Circle in 2023. She is a firm believer in instructional strategies that employ comprehensible input and is an advocate of reading in all levels of language class. Sarah received her B.A. in Spanish and urban studies from Stanford University and her M.A. in foreign language education from the University of Texas at Austin. She studied in Chile and Costa Rica and has led student trips to Guatemala, Nicaragua, Spain, Costa Rica, and China. A native of California, Sarah is honored to call West Berkeley home and thrilled to be a part of the Black Pine Circle community.
Why I Work with Children
They understand my humor.
A Favorite Book
Recently, I enjoyed Commonwealth, by Ann Patchett.
Quick Fact
My birthday is April 1st, no joke!
Other Faculty for This Grade
Alyson Mitchell
Eighth Grade History & Geography Teacher
Keen on floating houses and mutant Basset Hounds
Anatoliy Gulimovskiy
Seventh Grade Math Teacher, Math Club / Math Team Coach
Played soccer on a Zambian teacher team
Gerry Branner
Upper School Physical Education Teacher, Upper School Dean, and Upper School Athletic Director
Jerry Kennedy
Seventh and Eighth Grade Music Teacher, Band Director
Performed music in South Africa during the end of legal apartheid.
Torin Coffino
Sixth Grade History Teacher
Played Gaelic Football as a youth, and won a Minors championship in Ireland
