A Formerly Shy Student Takes Center Stage Among San Diego County Educators

Amanda Ford came to San Diego State University as a self-described shy kid from Valhalla High School in nearby El Cajon.

“Nobody knew me,” recalls Ford (’05, ’06). “I didn't talk to anyone.”

Two decades later, Ford is well known — both by the hundreds of students she has impacted as an educator in the Cajon Valley Union School District, and now as a 2023-24 San Diego County Teacher of the Year. She is one of five recipients of the award, selected from a pool of 23,000 teachers countywide. The honor now puts her in the running for the California Teacher of the Year award.

So how did the shy kid who once wouldn’t talk end up on stage during last week’s “Cox Presents: Salute to Teachers” reception?

It all started with a course she took in SDSU’s liberal studies program, an interdisciplinary major that prepares future educators.

“It was called Creative Drama for Children and it changed my life,” Ford said. “I remember doing a monologue which was ‘The Life of a Chair,’ or something goofy like that. There was a girl I had gone to high school with in my class, and after my monologue, she came up and asked if I was Amanda from Valhalla. I answered yes and she says, ‘Never in a million years would I have thought you would be doing something so outgoing and amazing.’

“I was really able to come out of my shell just from that one class.”

For the better part of the past two decades, Ford has been passionate about helping other shy students discover their voices through the power of theater.

Ford has taught in Cajon Valley for the past 18 years, starting as a 22-year-old fresh out of SDSU’s teaching credential program. She also did her student teaching in the district under a pair of guide teachers who would later become her colleagues.

For the past 10 years, Ford taught fifth grade and led plays at Rancho San Diego Elementary School, her own alma mater. This fall, she began a new position teaching seventh grade at nearby Flying Hills School of the Arts, where she is currently leading a production of Disney’s “Moana.”

“When I was shy, drama helped because I could transform into someone else and the lines were there on the script,” she said. “I think it’s important to have a teacher who makes you feel like you're safe and that it's OK to take that risk — to be another character who might be weird or silly.

“All three of my kids at home are in theater at their schools and I’ve seen the positive impact it has had on them, as well.”

Known for creating a positive classroom culture, Ford espouses a student-focused philosophy that allows children to take ownership of what they want to learn and discover, with the teacher serving as their guide.

Ford also passes on her wisdom and enthusiasm to the next generation of educators, frequently serving as a guide teacher for SDSU teaching credential students.

“I’m in my 18th year of teaching and I still feel like a new teacher — I'm not exhausted and I still have the passion and excitement to try new things and be innovative,” Ford said. “I just hope that new educators can think about the positives in education and keep their minds set on what's important, which is making sure that each child is seen as truly special and valued.”