John Zarate Rivera

John Zarate Rivera, 42, born on March 19, 1970, in Glendale, California, passed away March 16, 2013. He resided in Azusa, California at the time of his passing. Arrangements are under the direction of Forest Lawn, Covina, California.

About John, in his own words, from his blog:

I have been both a student and a teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District.Growing up in the Highland Park community of Los Angeles, I first attended Good Shepherd Lutheran School. Then I went to Luther Burbank Junior High School and Benjamin Franklin High School.

I spent my undergraduate years at University of California at Santa Barbara studying communication. I received my teaching credential through California State University, Los Angeles. I earned my administrative credential and Masters degree in Educational Administration at California State University, Northridge.I taught for several years at Coutin School, a nonpublic school for emotional disturbed special education students, focusing on elementary science, elementary language arts, high school health, and high school English.I also spent one year working at Sinai Akiba Jewish Academy in a first grade classroom.

My first years of teaching at Los Angeles Unified School District were spent at Annandale Elementary School, educating kindergarten or first grade students while also serving as the adjunct technology coordinator.

My work as a professional development facilitator led me to consulting work as an instructor in programs such as Teach the Teachers Collaborative, Vision 4 the Future Consortium, Pacific Oaks Teacher Credentialling Program, California State University, Dominguez Hills' e-Lit Program, Los Angeles County Office of Education's Instructional Technology Institute, Cable in the Classroom's National Teacher Advisory Panel, and LAUSD's Uniting Professional Development And Technology for Education (UPDATE) Program.

For several years, I served as an Instructional Technology Applications Facilitator for LAUSD's Local District E (Hollywood, Mid-Wilshire, and Northeast areas of Los Angeles) and then LAUSD's Local District 5 (East and South areas of Los Angeles), providing support in various forms to continue to advocate instructional uses of emerging technologies.

I then returned to my role as a teacher at Melrose Elementary School Mathematics / Science / Technology Magnet in the Los Angeles Unified School District where I utilized my knowledge of sound integration of technology into the classroom, contributing to helping the educational institution earn honors as a California Distinguished School, Title I High Academic Achievement School, and Apple Distinguished School.

Currently, I serve as a Specialist in Instructional Technology for Los Angeles Unified School District's Educational Service Center – East, providing leadership in integration of emerging technologies into K-12 instruction.