From pioneering new programs to finding love, the Los Altos High School retirees of the 2025-26 academic year have decades worth of stories to share before they leave — and they’re just as colorful as the classrooms they’ll have to pack up at the end of the year.  

Out of the ten teachers and staff members leaving this year, six gave the Post statements regarding the ways that Los Altos High has shaped both their teaching and the impact they hope to leave on the school community. 

Joanne Miyahara

Joanne Miyahara has been a teacher for AVID, a college readiness program, and an English teacher since 1991. However, Miyahara doesn’t simply teach the AVID program — she was one of its founding members. 

Assisted by Wynne Satterwhite, former principal and staff member at the time, Miyahara sought to create a program that would level the playing field for first-generation college students as well as those from low-income or immigrant families. 

“I’ve always cared about helping students, especially those who may be underserved,” Miyahara said. 

Miyahara also started the school’s Diversity Rally in the 1990s with a student club, One Accord. The Diversity Rally has long been a way to celebrate the student body’s wide range of cultural diversity, and thanks to Miyahara and her team of students, the Diversity Rally has been an official event of the Los Altos High Associated Student Body for several years.  

Miyahara said she was proud she and her students were able to make the Diversity Rally a core part of the school’s events, after putting pressure on ASB to pick up the event due to Miyahara’s conflicting parental commitment making it difficult to sustain the effort of supervising. 

“It [the Diversity Rally] pushed the boundaries and help[ed] voices be heard,” Miyahara said.

Miyahara has shown great devotion to her students and colleagues throughout her time at Los Altos High, and said her dedication for her job nearly cost her marriage with assistant principal Derek Miyahara. 

“I wasn’t even going to date my husband unless I knew he was going to live within 30 minutes of Los Altos High School,” Miyahara said. “[He] was the right person, but I wasn’t going to marry him unless he stayed by Los Altos.” 

Todd Wangsness

Miyahara isn’t the only teacher to have found love during her time at Los Altos High — English teacher Margaret Bennett and History teacher Todd Wangsness also met each other as colleagues. Wangsness said the school’s athletic director at the time initially thought the two teachers would be a “great match,” leading to Wangsness asking Bennett out on their first date. 

“We’ve … been able to have a parallel career with each other here at Los Altos [High],” Wangsness said. “It’s nice that we can spend so much time together [at school]. … I’m happiest when I’m spending time with her.”

Wangsness, who has worked in the history department for 32 years, feels that his time at Los Altos High has allowed him to grow as an educator. Even after so much time teaching the same curriculum each year, he said he is always looking for new ways to improve and alter his teaching methods in order to create the best learning environment possible for his students. 

“I really have enjoyed every day, and even today, I still don’t dread [coming into work],” Wangsness said. “I still enjoy … trying to come up with a new way of teaching the same lessons that you’ve done over and over and over again for the last 30 plus years.”

Margaret Bennett

English Department Coordinator Margaret Bennett — who is also a current English teacher — has played a significant role inside and outside of her department. Since she began teaching in 1991, Bennett has coached cross country and track teams as well as introducing the new creative writing elective for the 2025-2026 school year. 

Bennett said she wanted to incorporate lessons about media literacy in Los Altos High’s English classrooms and has been creating new assignments for students that encourage them to think outside of classic literary mediums and apply their critical thinking to the real world. 

“Traditional English classes think about books and poems and things like that, and those are all very important,” Bennett said. “But there are other ways to consume and create media, which I think is really important, especially [in] the modern day.”

Christine Bridges

While the majority of this year’s retirees are teachers, Los Altos High will be saying goodbye to two staff members including Christine Bridges, Los Altos High’s library assistant. Bridges said that the library has become more welcoming for students throughout her 31 years as the library assistant, which has made a big difference within the space. 

To create this welcoming environment, Bridges works to create a positive relationship with each student by simply having a respectful and friendly demeanor towards them. She said her methods are certainly effective, made evident from years and years of grateful students’ appreciation.

“I could show you files and files of pictures [and] photographs that students have given me [of] art that they’ve created,” Bridges said. “It [being a staff member] has been very fulfilling.” 

Greg Stoehr

Not only has Greg Stoehr been working in the science department as a Biology and Environmental Science teacher for 36 years, but he also coached Los Altos High’s rugby team, the Los Altos Lions. Starting in 1991, Stoehr advised the school club until they dissolved 16 years later. Stoehr said that the feeling of camaraderie that came from working with students as a coach is one of the things he’ll miss most about Los Altos High. 

Stoehr said he has deeply enjoyed the “thrill of teaching” that comes from working to make his class interactive and engaging for his students, and he hopes to have given his students a chance to actually enjoy learning about science.

“The main thing I try to do is get students to want to come to class, have fun in class [and] learn something in class,” Stoehr said. “If all that’s happened, I’m as happy as can be.”

Terri Salsman de Rodriguex

Terri Salsman de Rodriguex started working as a Spanish teacher at Los Altos High in 1992, and over the years, she has been the language department coordinator, an adviser to numerous clubs, a member of the District Teachers Association, a mentor to new teachers and a leader of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. All of her experiences, she said, have helped her to strive to improve herself as both a teacher and community member. 

“Los Altos [High] really motivates you to be [a] lifelong learner,” Rodriguex said.

Rodriguex credited the district and her colleagues as being critical influences on her path to becoming a better teacher, including encouraging her pursuit of a national teaching certificate. She said the motivating environment she’s experienced at Los Altos High has also impacted how she runs her classroom, and she enjoys being able to make her classes a more creative and engaging space for her students. 

Saying Goodbye

These ten teachers and staff members have collectively devoted themselves to Los Altos High for roughly 304 years, from grading papers to advising clubs to every day in between. As a final farewell, the 2025 retirees had a few parting words for their colleagues, students and Los Altos High community. 

Bridges signed off on a lighthearted note about the things she’s glad to leave behind.

“Three things that I won’t miss are getting up early in the morning, making the commute and having to do the Keenan [& Associates] training that staff has to do at the beginning of the school year,” Bridges said. 

From Miyahara came a heartfelt piece of advice for all the students and teachers she’s worked with throughout her years at Los Altos High.

“Even amid challenges, always live in gratitude, aware of your blessings, and remember the power of your voice and talents to make a positive impact,” Miyahara said. 

Bennett’s final message was to herself 30 years ago, right around the time that she began teaching at Los Altos High. 

“This job will take over your life, but I think you already knew that,” Bennett said. “Every day is meaningful and valuable. You will learn so much about yourself, about other people and about the world, and you’ll have a lot of fun along the way.”