Faculty & Staff

Meet the Team

Katherine Estevez, Ed.D.

Katherine Estevez, Ed.D.

Principal

As Griffiths’ Principal, Dr. Estevez is excited to make sure that all students receive the best educational experience possible as they develop, grow and learn. She is always striving to help students succeed and guiding them to be their best. Outside of work, Dr. Estevez loves to spend time with her family, she loves to travel, exercise and to learn new things.

Mr. Jayson Quimby

Mr. Jayson Quimby

Vice Principal

Mr. Quimby is honored to serve as the vice principal of Griffiths Middle School. He studied English at BIOLA University and began teaching English classes at Griffiths in 1999. He enjoys spending time with his family and friends. Some of his favorite past times are surfing, traveling, swimming, and coaching sports. He is dedicated to serving the families of Griffiths and making GMS the best middle school it can be!
Mr. Ed Plant

Mr. Ed Plant

Dean of Students

After several years of classroom teaching and helping to create a positive school culture, Mr. Plant takes on a new role as the Dean of Students. His approach of positive accountability helps create a safe environment for all students while encouraging them to practice the two main areas of PBIS: Respect and Responsibility while building on the pillars of Character Counts!

Ms. Evelyn Velasco

Ms. Evelyn Velasco

Office Manager

As a mother of 3 boys, Ms. Velasco is always busy with all of their sports. To relax, she enjoys spending time outdoors, off-roading in her JEEP, and camping. Before joining DUSD in 2016, Ms. Velasco worked under management for the private industry and in 2019 she joined the Griffiths family, where she has felt at home. 

Ms. Iris Mata

Ms. Iris Mata

EL/Title I Coordinator

Ms. Mata has been a Special Education Teacher since 2002 and recently felt the need to provide support for children on a larger scale.  She feels blessed to have the opportunity to serve Griffiths Middle School by becoming its Categorical Teacher. Outside of work, Ms. Mata loves being a mom of three girls and spending as much time outdoors in nature. 

Griffiths Directory

Office Staff

Katherine Estevez, Ed.D.
Principal
Main Office
kestevez@dusd.net

Jayson Quimby
Vice Principal
Main Office
jaquimby@dusd.net

Ed Plant
Dean of Students
Main Office
eplant@dusd.net

Evelyn Velasco
Office Manager
Main Office
evelasco@dusd.net

Davina Fernandez
Attendance Clerk
Main Office
dfernandez@dusd.net

Yolanda Cedillo
Bilingual Intermediate Clerical Assistant
Main Office
ycedillo@dusd.net

Karissa Spindola
Records Clerk
Main Office
kspindola@dusd.net

Lienell Spicer
Media Tech
Main Office
lspicer@dusd.net

Iris Mata
Categorical Coordinator
Main Office
imata@dusd.net

Chendal San-Tong
Psychologist
Main Office
ssantong@dusd.net

Counselors

Kelly Padilla
Counselor (Students A–F)
Counseling Office
kpadilla@dusd.net

Gianna Donahue
Counselor (Students G–M)
Counseling Office
gdonahue@dusd.net

Marcela Michea
Counselor (Students N–Z)
Counseling Office
mmichea@dusd.net

English Department

Tyson Bohlinder
7th & 8th English
Room 52
tbohlinger@dusd.net

Emily Cassayre
6th English & AVID
Room 31
ecassayre@dusd.net

Charmetra Chatmon
8th Grade English, Journalism
Teacher Website
Room 53
cchatmon@dusd.net

Sarah Stayer-Clarke
6th Grade English
Room 42
sclarke@dusd.net

Doug Elizondo
7th Grade English
Room 87
delizondo@dusd.net

Dulce Franco
7th Grade English, AVID, Spanish
Room 44
jcockrill@dusd.net

Angelica Gonzalez
6th Grade English
Room 24
anggonzalez@dusd.net

Sarah Karout
6th Grade English, ELD
Room 54
skarout@dusd.net

Lourdes Madrigal
8th Grade English
Room 41
lmadrigal @dusd.net

Shay Murray
7th & 8th Grade English
Room 64
smurray@dusd.net

Amanda Pace
7th Grade English
Room 43
apace@dusd.net

Julie Romero
AVID, 6th Grade English
Room 32
jromero@dusd.net

Payama Tiffany
6th Grade English
Room 33
ptiffany@dusd.net

Jaime Valladares
6th Grade English, ELD
Room 34
javalladares@dusd.net

Elizabeth Vega
8th Grade English, AVID
Room 51
evega@dusd.net

Monique Vega
8th Grade English, AVID
Room 24
mvega@dusd.net

Arts & Electives

Jennifer Bliss
Librarian
Library
jebliss@dusd.net

Nicole Hua
Music
Room 91
nhua@dusd.net

Ron Legaspi
CTE (Robotics/3D Design)
Room 83
rlegaspi@dusd.net

Jessica McNeil
Drama Teacher
Room 92
jmcneil@dusd.net

Lily Seelig
Art, Social Studies
Room 81
lseelig@dusd.net

Kim Silverman
Culinary, Foods, Life Skills
Room 73
ksilverman@dusd.net

Math

Lauren Barragan
7th Grade Math
Room 87
jbarragan@dusd.net

Eric Berchtold
6th Grade Math
Room 105
eberchtold@dusd.net

Nathan Charlton
7th Grade Math
Room 82
ncharlton@dusd.net

Kristy Gonzalez
6th Grade Math
Room 104
kgonzalez@dusd.net

Jacob Houts
6th Grade Math
Room 206
jhouts@dusd.net

Christianne Lambert
8th Grade Math
Room 206
clambert@dusd.net

Jennifer Legg
7th Grade Math
Room 202
jlegg@dusd.net

Daniel Martinez
7th Grade Math
Room 200
dmartinz@dusd.net

Sandra Martinez-Espindola
6th Grade Math
Room 201
smartinezespindola@dusd.net

Steven Partnoff
8th Grade Math
Room 208
spartnoff@dusd.net

Cody Pesqueria
8th Grade Math
Room 209
cpesqueria@dusd.net

James Shull
8th Grade Math
Room 207
jshull@dusd.net

Science

Dulce Diazibarra
8th Grade Science
Room 11
ddiazibarra@dusd.net

Heidy Garcia
8th Grade Science
Room 41
hgarcia@dusd.net

Sarah Heredia
7th Grade Science
Room 21
sheredia@dusd.net

Tyler Neill
6th & 7th Grade Science
Room 23
tneill@dusd.net

Matthew Orique
6th Grade Science
Room 22
morique@dusd.net

Kellie Russell
7th & 8th Grade Science
Room 13
krussell@dusd.net

Natalie Soto
8th Grade Science
Room 12
nsoto@dusd.net

Jessenia Vargas-Aguilar
6th Grade Science
Room 71
jaguilar@dusd.net

Social Studies

Jennifer Angulo
6th & 7th Grade Social Studies
Room 76
jangulo@dusd.net

Christian Korver
6th Grade Social Studies
Room 77
ckorver@dusd.net

Marlon Espina
6th & 7th Grade Social Studies
Room 74
mespina@dusd.net

McKenzie Jackson
7th Grade Social Studies, ASB
Room 86
mcjackson@dusd.net

Ed Lozano
6th & 7th Grade Social Studies
Room 75
elozano@dusd.net

Greg McCurry
7th & 8th Grade Social Studies
Room 85
gmccurry@dusd.net

Karen McDermott
7th & 8th Grade Social Studies
Room 84
kmcdermott@dusd.net

Lily Seelig
8th Grade Social Studies, Art
Room 81
lseelig@dusd.net

Special Education

Efren Barajas
Special Education
Room 102
ebarajas@dusd.net

Shelly Bland-Reisch
Basic Skills
Room 101
sblandreisch@dusd.net

Jacob Houts
SDC
jhouts@dusd.net

Dana Messore
Special Education
Room 103
dmessore@dusd.net

 

Physical Education

Stephanie Benson
PE Teacher
Gymnasium
sbenson@dusd.net

Billie Gayer
PE Teacher
Gymnasium
bgayer@dusd.net

Jo Hultquist
PE Teacher
Gymnasium
jhultquist@dusd.net

Matthew Kirk
PE Teacher
Gymnasium
mkirk@dusd.net

Steve Mann
PE Teacher
Gymnasium
smann@dusd.net

Additional Staff

Elizabeth Gallardo
Utility

Alex Martinez
Cafeteria Manager

Martha Perez-Castor
School Therapist

Summer Puskas
Speech Therapist
Room 203C

 

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