Mr. David Lopez

lopezd@grriverview.org

Credentials:

EdS. Educational Administration - Wayne State University
M.A. Secondary Education - Saginaw Valley State University
B.A. History - University of Detroit Mercy

Educational Experience:

2001-Present Gabriel Richard Catholic High School
2000 SER Casa Technological Academy
1997-2000 Mt. Clemens Senior Academy
1995-1997 Substitute Tacher - Southgate/Wyandotte

Contributions:

NCA Writing Committee
Safe Schools Committee

About Me:

   I came to GR at the semester break of the 2000-2001 school
year to fill a spot vacated by a teacher who had left mid-year.
I had been teaching at a charter high school in Southwest Detroit
run by Latino Family Services. Prior to that I had taught GED
courses for Detroit Job Corps, and spent three years working for
the Edison Project as the Language Arts Curriculum Coordinator
for their Senior Academy program in Mt. Clemens (the first of its
kind in the nation!). While these were positions where I was
helping students who were truly in need, they were also positions
that required me to spend a considerable amount of time driving
back and forth to work. I grew up Downriver, and graduated from
Southgate Anderson (Class of '84!!!). I had just bought a home
in Taylor and was on the lookout for any kind of job opening that
would be close to home. When I got the job at GR, I figured I'd
finish out the school year and look for something in the public
schools down here. Then the bottom fell out of the job market in
Southeastern Michigan. Thank God.
   Within the first few months of working here, my enthusiasm
for finding work someplace else began to wane. I can't imagine
teaching anywhere else. I made the comment a couple of years ago
that I had found a "Teacher's Paradise" here, and nothing has
changed my mind. Sure, the money's lousy, but the "fringe
benefits" more than make up for it. I have a strong belief in my
Catholic faith, and in my family. These are the cornerstones of
who I am and what I do. They are also central to what I see as
being the mission of GR. I was convinced of this last year when
my wife was diagnosed with cancer. The outpouring of support and
affection continues to affect me to this day. My home was
deluged with cards, flowers, and even even a pork roast dinner
(thank you, Development Office). These were things I had never
seen in my years in public schools. When my wife had to stop
working, and when the extra costs of her treatment began to take
a toll on us, the GR community once again stepped in to lend a
helping hand. The week before Christmas, a group of recent grads
showed up on my doorstep with over $250 in Meijer gift cards.
When I asked them what it was all about, they said that they had
heard about my wife, and that things were getting difficult for
us. They were all home from college for Christmas break and
hanging out at the Grind in Wyandotte, when somebody brought it
up. They passed the hat around the coffee shop and that's what
resulted. It took a group of kids sitting around a coffee shop to teach me what Christmas really meant, and what was the real job we did here at GR. It has nothing to do with writing or with
science or even with test scores (although ours are great). We
make people here. We make solid, upstanding people - people you
would be proud to know, and people that I am proud to be
associated with. When all is said and done, and my career is
just a distant memory, that's what I will remember most. Not the
papers or the worksheets or the drama of who's dating whom this
week. The people. The wide-eyed freshmen who walked in our
doors like lambs to the slaughter, and left as people who are
going to change this world. I have been truly blessed to have
the opportunity to work with these children, and there aren't any
words that I can use to honestly express those blessings. Don't
believe me? Take a look in these hallways and see for yourself.
You won't be disappointed.