Pauline Stahl, Ed.D., a veteran teacher in the Alameda Unified School District (AUSD), was selected as one of two Alameda County Teachers of the Year at the 30th annual Alameda County Teacher of the Year Awards ceremony in Castro Valley, Oct. 3.

Stahl, who was chosen as AUSD’s 2019 Teacher of the Year last May, received her bachelor’s degree from Occidental College, her teaching credential and a master’s degree in anthropology from Cal State East Bay. She earned her Doctorate in Education from Mills College. She currently teaches physiology and anthropology at Encinal Junior and Senior High School (EJSHS).

Throughout her career in AUSD, Stahl has taken numerous leadership roles. These included serving as the head of the science department at EJSHS, coordinating the school’s English Language Learner program, serving on the Principal’s Council, and co-directing the school’s Restorative Justice Center. She founded and directs the Genomics and Biotechnology Pathway program at EJSHS.

Joshua Theo Wheeler, an English teacher at Redwood High School in Castro Valley, was also selected to represent the county.The two teachers were selected from the 18 Alameda County school district Teachers of the Year. They each submitted an extensive application for panel review.

Both honorees are now eligible to compete for California Teacher of the Year.

Stahl helped found the Genomics and Biotechnology Career Pathway at Encinal in 2015 in partnership with Merritt College Professor J. Robert Macey. The dual-enrollment program allows EJSHS students to take biotechnology classes at Merritt College for college credit, as well as anthropology classes with Stahl at EJSHS. 

Last September, four members of Encinal’s first cohort of the genomics program were acknowledged in an article Macey published in the international science journal Zootaxia. The students had assisted Macey with his research on taxonomic classification of reptiles.

“I was shocked to have been chosen as Alameda County’s Teacher of the Year from among such an amazing group of educators,” Stahl said. “Educators do not often receive recognition, and I feel that this is a win for us all: the district that encourages innovative programs, principals who are flexible and know their ‘why,’ all the exceptional teachers across AUSD and our amazing students who make it worth the struggle.”