Diana Goldberg has taught at Archie Williams since 2020, starting in the Small Learning Communities (SLCs) and later becoming a vital part of the TEAM Program. TEAM is an outdoor learning academy that incorporates hiking and backpacking into its curriculum. Goldberg has built the community within the TEAM program at Archie, but will be taking the next year off for maternity leave.
As a kid, Goldberg always knew she wanted to be a teacher. Several members of her family, including her mom and grandpa, were also teachers. She quickly fell in love with teaching, especially teaching others to read.
As she got older, English quickly became her favorite subject, but she also enjoyed acapella choir, jazz band, theater, soccer, tennis, and softball. At 20 years old, she developed her passion for hiking after her first backpacking trip. From there, she knew she wanted to combine her love of English with her love of hiking.
“I knew a dream job would be finding a way to combine teaching English and backpacking. Little did I know that TEAM existed,” Goldberg said.
Goldberg started helping out with the TEAM program at Tamiscal in 2017, but left due to budget cuts in 2020. During COVID, she became an English teacher at Archie Williams while also working to bring TEAM to the school.
“I worked with the superintendent at the time for two years to find a way to bring TEAM back, and with her suggestion and the help of the board, Archie’s old principal, and Jasper Thelin, [Archie Williams visual and performing arts teacher], the TEAM Academy was born. It’s been running here since 2022, and I felt like I had my hope restored,” Goldberg said.
TEAM became a part of Archie as an academy in 2022, and she has led it ever since, teaching English, wilderness medicine, and Workplace Learning and Leadership. Goldberg explains she loves TEAM for its sense of community.
“I get to be with the same students all day, which is so lovely, and it’s really a family that we build at school… we just get to form a community that’s rooted in critical thinking and discussions, and learning about real-world experiences…” Goldberg said. “It’s just an environment that I think fosters learning and true holistic care about every single person in the program in a way that you don’t always get in a regular classroom.”
Although Goldberg will be taking next year off for maternity leave and will miss her students greatly, she plans to return to TEAM and continue fostering the sense of community and family that touches every student who passes through the program. With the sudden change to the program next year, making it only available to seniors, Goldberg is unsure what the future holds for TEAM. Although the news concerns all those involved in the program, she remains optimistic and hopes to resume her work after her leave.
“I will definitely miss the teamies when I’m gone, but I know we’ll still be in touch. We say that once a teamie, you’re a teamie for life. My heart will be with them every step of the way next year and beyond,” Goldberg said.
