Superintendent Ilsa Garza Gonzalez talks with..?
Legendary Fallbrook High School Coach Tom Pack and former quarterback Jaime Miramontes
Superintendent Ilsa Garza Gonzalez sits down with legendary Fallbrook High School coach Tom Pack and former quarterback Jaime Miramontes (and Ivy High School counselor) for a conversation about leadership, football, and the people who shape a community. Coach Pack looks back on his 23 years at Fallbrook High School, including 17 years as head football coach. He shares how a willingness to rethink the team’s offense helped build a new identity for Fallbrook football—and why the program’s “golden years” were about much more than wins. Pack also recalls an extraordinary community fundraiser: building a house to help send the team to Hawaii. Miramontes joins to reflect on being trusted as a young quarterback and the lessons he still carries into his work as a school counselor. Together, he and Coach Pack discuss discipline, adversity, resilience, and the pride of seeing former players give back to the Fallbrook community.
Principal of Alternative Schools Ivy & Oasis Lauren Gardiner
Superintendent Ilsa Garza Gonzalez speaks with Principal Lauren Gardiner about leading Fallbrook Union High School District’s two alternative education programs, Ivy High School and Oasis High School. The conversation focuses on how both schools build strong culture by meeting students where they are, using data with a human face behind it, and creating pathways that fit very different needs. Lauren shares how she balances flexibility, trust, and individualized support across both campuses, and why connection, advocacy, and belief in students are central to her leadership.
Madison Pineau is a first-year speech and language pathologist
Superintendent Ilsa Garza Gonzalez sits down with Madison Pineau, a first-year speech and language pathologist with Fallbrook Union High School District. The conversation explores how communication support extends far beyond articulation, helping students build confidence, self-advocacy skills, and meaningful connections with others. Madison shares how her own experiences receiving speech services inspired her career, the many ways she supports students in a high school setting, and why creating a safe space for students to find their voice is at the heart of her work.
Teacher and Coach Melissa Palmer
Superintendent Ilsa Garza Gonzalez speaks with Melissa Palmer, a Fallbrook High alumna who now teaches adaptive PE and coaches field hockey at her school. The conversation focuses on returning to serve your own community, building inclusive opportunities for students with disabilities, and the lessons coaching and teaching can both pass on.In this episode, Melissa shares how being known on campus as both a former student and current educator helps her connect with students, why adaptive PE matters for access and inclusion, and how unified PE creates real friendships between students.
Ben McKenna on helping students embrace productive struggle
Superintendent Ilsa Garza Gonzalez introduces Ben McKenna, a first-year math teacher in the Fallbrook Union High School District, and talks with him about why he chose teaching, what he is learning in his first days in the classroom, and how he hopes to reach students who say they are “not a math person.” The conversation focuses on math confidence, student relationships, and the idea that growth often comes through productive struggle.
Francisco Garcia on Student Voice at Ivy High School
the show’s first student guest, Francisco Garcia, a student board representative from Ivy High School. Superintendent Ilsa Garza Gonzalez uses the conversation to highlight why student voice matters, how alternative education can support growth, and how a smaller school setting can change a student’s experience.
Francisco García sobre la Voz Estudiantil en Ivy High School
El primer estudiante invitado del programa, Francisco García, representante estudiantil de la mesa directiva de Ivy High School. La superintendente Ilsa Garza-González aprovecha la conversación para destacar por qué la voz estudiantil es importante, cómo la educación alternativa puede apoyar el crecimiento de los estudiantes y cómo un entorno escolar más pequeño puede transformar la experiencia educativa de un alumno.
Vee Nguyen is our new math teacher this year.
Superintendent Ilsa Garza Gonzalez talks with Vee Nguyen about her path from community college teaching to high school mathematics, and what that experience reveals about student readiness, mindset, and growth. The exchange is focused on education, but the bigger theme is how a teacher’s perspective can shape what students believe is possible for themselves.
Assistant Principal Leonardo Lopez Jr.
Do You Have a Minute?: Fallbrook High Assistant Principal Leonardo Lopez Jr. This episode introduces Leonard Lopez Jr., a new vice principal at Fallbrook High School, and explores the path that brought him from Boyle Heights and Southgate to leadership roles across Southern California. Also available on Spotify.
Coach John Hollcraft on Building a Team-First Culture
Do You Have a Minute?: Coach John Hollcraft on Building a Team-First Culture Superintendent Ilsa Garza-Gonzalez sits down with Fallbrook High's head football coach to talk leadership, culture, and the bigger purpose of high school athletics. About 13 minutes. Also available on Spotify.