Faculty & Staff Directory

Madalena has lived in San Francisco for just over a year and is a grad student at the University of San Francisco. Madalena feels most comfortable and fulfilled in an academic environment - especially one as welcoming and inspiring as Gateway High School! She feels excited and privileged to be able to support and learn from the wonderful students at Gateway High this school year.

Alix Spivack teaches Environmental Science 9 at Gateway High School.  A graduate of Middlebury College with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Economics, Alix completed two credentialing programs at UC Berkeley Extension while undertaking post-graduate studies in the biological sciences at UC San Diego.  Prior to the classroom, Alix served as an environmental consultant for 10 years followed by 7 years working in education including as Executive Director of an environmental education non-profit organization.  Alix is excited to be teaching 9th graders the wonders of the natural world… in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond!  A San Francisco native, she enjoys sweep rowing on a coached team, open ocean kayaking, quality family time, and trail hikes with her dog.

Jeff Sprague teaches Humanities 11 and Civics at Gateway. He earned his BA in American Studies from Yale and an MA from the University of Texas at Austin. He also received his MA in Education from Stanford. Jeff has been teaching for eleven years and brings a passion for issues of social justice to his teaching of American literature, history and government. When he is not teaching, Jeff enjoys playing guitar and hanging out with his family.

Whitney Starks is from Sacramento, CA and is a student at SF State in the single subject credential program. Whitney studied abroad in Costa Rica in 2007 and wants to go back to visit the rainforest and see the amazing animals– maybe on a conservation project as well! Whitney wants to protect the environment and restore the rainforest, and bike a lot during her program at SF State.

Chris (Geometry, Precalculus, Calculus) grew up in DC but had his first teaching experiences in the great city of Baltimore, MD. Yes, the city from The Wire. Chris moved to SF in 2016 to follow the California Dream like many others. Chris has taught middle school and high school in SFUSD and loved every day of it. He is excited to teach at Gateway. His focus will be building connections with students who don’t always have their voices heard, and giving them an outlet to shine. He intends to start a music production club (beat making/rapping) and to help out with the already-established skate club. 

Juliana is ecstatic to join the Gateway family as a Spanish teacher. She grew up in Richmond, CA. She majored in Spanish Language & Culture at Simpson University. Juliana has taught ESL in China and in Oakland, California. She has also taught Spanish at her former high school LPS-Richmond. Outside of school, Juliana enjoys traveling, photography, museums & creating playlists on a monthly basis.