Michelle Ohanian, Department Chair
Fairfax County Public Schools 2008 Teacher of the Year, Michelle Ohanian, came to Mt View from the Office of ESOL with FCPS. She has taught in elementary, middle and high schools in Fairfax, Alexandria and Baltimore. She has a B.A. in Legal Studies from the University of Massachusetts and an M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in ESL from George Mason University. Ms. Ohanian has been a teacher consultant with the Northern Virginia Writing Project since 1999 and frequently presents on writing strategies for English Language Learners. At home, she has two tiny English learners of her own.
Tracy McDonald
Ms. McDonald has been part of the Mountain View family for a year now and can’t imagine being anywhere else. She feels that the school motto: Family, Love and Respect works a special magic in the hearts of the students, and rebuilds their ability to trust and hope - missing ingredients in many learning environments today. Ms. McDonald started her teaching career in the Yakima Valley of Washington State where she worked nine years with the native Indian population and seasonal migrant workers from Mexico. Her work in Fairfax County Public Schools has included teaching HS and MS Spanish, helping spearhead the Spanish Immersion Program at Bailey’s ES, and most recently, working for ESOL Central Office in Assessment. Ms. McDonald received her BA from the College of Santa Fe, in New Mexico, completed her Fifth Year Course work from Central Washington University, in Ellensburg, Washington, and upon moving to Virginia, earned her master’s degree from George Mason University in Curriculum and Design. Ms. McDonald’s three teenage children keep her busy at home and can be credited for teaching her the value of staying calm, cool and connected in all venues of life.
Sandra Brown Valenzuela
Ms. Valenzuela is originally from New York but has lived in the Washington, D.C. area since the 1980 ’ s. She graduated from The American University in 1986 with an International Business degree and worked in non-profit agencies in Washington, D.C. until 1991. After traveling and studying abroad in Europe and Mexico, she decided to become a teacher and enrolled at George Mason University to get her Masters Degree in Curriculum and Instruction through a U.S. Department of Education full scholarship. She speaks, reads, and writes Spanish fluently. She loves animals and has two cats and a dog. In her spare time she likes to garden, cook, swim, play tennis, clean up her Adopt-a-Highway site, and read.
