View more photos from the Gratitude Grants Happy Hour.
On a beautiful afternoon, a week before the last day of the school year, educators from across West Contra Costa public schools gathered at the RYSE Center for a well-deserved celebration at the 2025 Gratitude Grants Happy Hour.
The Chamberlin Education Foundation hosted the event, where teachers enjoyed delicious quesabirria tacos and nachos from Masa Tamales and Tacos, shared stories from the year, and reconnected with colleagues.
Since 2015, the Chamberlin Education Foundation has awarded more than 8,700 teacher Gratitude Grants, totaling $2.2 million, to help teachers diversify their classroom libraries, purchase math manipulatives, download digital learning tools, refresh art supplies, and more.
Sanjuana Cavazos de Rodolfo, a Washington Elementary School first-grade teacher, was joined by her husband, Rodolfo, at the Gratitude Grants celebration. This year, in her 26th year of teaching, Cavazos de Rodolfo was recognized with a Teaching Excellence Award by the West Contra Costa Public Education Fund.
Cavazos de Rodolfo said she enjoyed the opportunity to see colleagues from her school outside of work, and also connect with educators she worked with in the past. “It’s good to see everyone and hear different perspectives,” she said. It was fun for her to have her husband with her as well. “I love that he’s part of my journey,” she said.
At a nearby table, a group of Summit Tamalpais educators chatted and caught up on the year. Ashlee Davis is a first-year teacher at Summit Tamalpais, while Hillary Vo just finished her sixth year. The two had bonded during Davis’ student-teaching experience, and their camaraderie was evident.
Davis reflected on the challenges and triumphs of her first year. “The bonds I got to create with a lot of 10th graders brought me through the year,” she said. “If I wasn’t as connected to them as I am now, I don’t think I would have made it,” she said. “Now they’re actively saying, ‘Ms. Davis, I need you to do student council with me,’ or ‘Ms. Davis, I want to do something. Can we do it together?’”
Vo shared a favorite moment from the year. “This one student was like, ‘Wow, reading is like watching a movie, but in your brain.’ I was like, ‘Yes! That is what reading is!’” She laughed. “It’s those little moments that remind you why we do this.”
Sayuni Malle, a retired middle school math teacher with 18 years of experience, now substitutes in the district. He enjoyed the opportunity to reconnect with former colleagues. He sat at a table with one of those former colleagues, Sergio Castro, a special education teacher at Soskin, just finishing his second year.
“It’s like a big family,” Castro said of teaching at Soskin. “I have a lot of support in my department. We help each other out a lot. It’s been a challenge, but seeing improvements in foundational skills makes it worth it.”
LaKiesha Golden, a Summit Tamalpais math teacher with 12 years of experience, was at the celebration with her adult daughter. She spoke passionately about breaking down students’ mental blocks around math.
“I always tell people, no one says, ‘It’s okay if you don’t know how to read,’ but they’ll say, ‘It’s okay, I wasn’t good at math either,’” Golden said. “I told parents this year: Make it a family activity so your child sees you learning too. It’s okay not to know something. You can learn together.”
One of her proudest moments was when a multilingual student translated a project into Spanish independently. “I told the class, ‘This is the bar. Now you have to match her.’”
The Gratitude Grant Happy Hour highlighted the resilience, dedication, and camaraderie of West Contra Costa educators, from first-year teachers finding their footing to veteran teachers celebrating decades of impact.
“Being here with colleagues, sharing food and stories,” Malle said, “it kind of reduces a lot of stress.”
For Cavazos de Rodolfo, the Teacher of the Year, the day was a fitting capstone to an unforgettable year. “I love this community,” she said. “That’s why I’m still here.”
