Pair of Alumni Named Teachers of the Year by San Diego Unified

“I’m still a little overwhelmed, maybe a little bit shocked,” said Rosenberg, a science and biology teacher at Scripps Ranch High. “There are just so many good educators out there — even at my own site, there are so many that I look up to. So it’s quite an honor.” 

 

Added Loyko, a kindergarten teacher at Clay Elementary: “It’s unbelievable. I think I’m just starting to wrap my head around it.” 

 

At her school site in the Rolando neighborhood, just a short jaunt from SDSU, Loyko cherishes the moments of epiphany. 

 

“I love hearing kids say, ‘Mrs. Loyko, I can read!’” she says, smiling. “This year has been a bit more challenging because of COVID — they were three and a half when the pandemic hit — but they’re still going to get to where they need to be. They will because they’re loved, and they're seen, and they're supported in the way that they need to be supported.” 

 

Loyko helps foster formative learning by creating a dynamic environment. In class, you’re likely to see her jumping, dancing and singing — even playing ukuleles — with her students. She is also passionate about environmental sustainability and the outdoors, and finding ways to get her students to learn in ways not confined by the four walls of the classroom. 

 

“To give everybody an equitable education, you need to create environments where all different types of people can understand their purpose and understand how to receive information in ways that are valuable to them,” she said. “I think that creating different spaces on a campus is a way forward.” 

 

Loyko earned her teaching credential and her master’s in teaching (M.A.T.) from SDSU, praising the flexibility the programs offered her as a young parent and working professional. 

 

“In the master’s program especially, the professors really made it something attainable,” said Loyko, who said she was inspired by STE faculty members Marva Cappello and Kelly Johnson. “They really worked with us to help us get to where we needed to go.” 

 

Walk into Rosenberg’s 10th-grade classroom at Scripps Ranch High, and you might hear something unexpected. Like Vanilla Ice’s greatest hits, for instance. Rosenberg likes to set the mood for learning with a playlist that relates to that day’s lesson. The 1990s rapper’s once-ubiquitous hit “Ice Ice Baby” was used to introduce “Chasing Ice,” a video on the impact of climate change. 

 

It’s all reflective of Rosenberg’s teaching style, which mixes a variety of experiences, learning environments and a dose of self-deprecating humor. Whatever it takes to get students engaged. 

 

“I try to keep it fresh,” he says. “I think for me, the best thing is having a student come in and say, ‘I don't like science’ or ‘I haven't done well.’ I tell them to give it a chance. Then, at the end of the year, they tell me they want to major in science. That's the best moment.” 

 

Rosenberg also leads inclusivity efforts at Scripps Ranch, serving as coordinator for No Place for Hate, an initiative that fights bias and bullying. 

 

As an SDSU credential student, Rosenberg was a bit older than most of his peers — he transitioned into teaching after a career as an animal trainer. 

 

“I had already had a separate career and I had a family, so I think I brought some different perspectives,” Rosenberg recalls, smiling. “It was kind of weird when everyone wanted to go out and have a drink and I'm like, ‘I've got a two-year-old and an infant.’ 

 

“But the program was great. I ended it on a Friday and I started teaching on a Monday.”