Ms. Katherine Johnson
Ms. Johnson (Mattingly), a former Mission San Jose High student, graduated from Pacific Lutheran University in Washington. She has been teaching English at Mission for 23 years and has instructed all grades and grade levels and has been a member of the Mill Creek teaching staff for 8 years, teaching SAT 1 skills. Although her strength is in teaching American literature to college preparatory juniors, her real joy comes from teaching Honors level Freshmen. While teaching at Mission, Ms. Johnson has earned several distinguished awards including the Live Oak Family Service Award for Creativity, recognition by the University of California for outstanding teaching, and the Dorothy Wright Award for excellence in the classroom, awarded by San Jose State University. The accomplishment for which she is most proud, however, is that she was one of 33 teachers in the country to be honored with a Disney American Teacher Award in 2000. Ms. Johnson brings to the classroom a passion for the English language, energy, and enthusiasm.