Welcome, instructional aide Dave Sozzani

From substitute teacher to instructional aide
Posted on 09/26/2018
Instructional aide Dave Sozzani teaches a STEM class at Plumas Charter School's Quincy learning center.Already a familiar face at Plumas Charter School, substitute teacher Dave Sozzani has been hired as an instructional aide this year. “We’re so glad to have Dave here full time,” said Executive Director Taletha Washburn. “The kids love him!”

Sozzani said he starting substitute teaching in order to have a flexible job while he pursued his doctorate so he could teach at the college level. “But since then,” he said, “I’ve discovered that the elementary school level is the most enjoyable.”

After a month of working with PCS’s third- through sixth-graders at the Quincy learning center’s 546 Lawrence St. site, Sozzani said he appreciates being able to see his students every day.

“I get to see the students’ progress instead of just getting a snapshot of where they’re at once or twice a semester,” he said. “I’m also getting to know the students’ learning styles better, which is good for helping students with individual, quirky learning techniques.”

Sozzani has a bachelor’s degree in biology from San Francisco State; he said he draws on this background when teaching science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) classes.

It was through SF State’s field campus in the Lakes Basin area that Sozzani discovered Plumas County about seven years ago. He attended classes there, volunteered, and was eventually hired to work in the kitchen. He recently parlayed that experience into an additional job managing the kitchen for the University of California, Berkeley camp in Meadow Valley.

Along the way, Sozzani said, he fell in love with Quincy local Lindsay Davis, whom he married this summer. With two new jobs and a marriage, it appears that Sozzani will be around to teach PCS students far into the future!

By Ingrid Burke, I. Burke Writing & Editing
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In the photo: New Plumas Charter School instructional aide Dave Sozzani answers a question from fifth-grader Kiersten Molina (out of frame). Meanwhile, clockwise from top, fifth-grader Joe Freitas, fourth-grader Ava Akridge, fourth-grader Ben De La Montanya, and third-grader Jaxon Rider listen attentively. Sozzani was helping the students design and test paper airplanes using the following steps: ask, imagine, plan, create, and improve. Photo by Ingrid Burke