Ms. Sarah Ortega

Known among her students as a teacher who genuinely loves everything about numbers and how they operate, Ms. Ortega is a proud Viking who calls her alma mater the stepping stone to her love for mathematics. As a graduate from Irvington High School, Ms. Ortega attended San Jose State University where she graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelors of Arts in Mathematics and a minor in Dance. Continuing her graduate education, she completed her Single Subject Teaching Credential in Mathematics at San Jose State. Ms. Ortega has been teaching mathematics at Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton and loves working with young minds. Teaching various math levels including: Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and Pre-Calculus, she hopes to inspire students to pursue mathematics and discover its exciting applications to the real world.

Additionally, Ms. Ortega has had several research internships with the NASA Ames Research Center with projects ranging from organizing astronomical photo event data, testing safety cases in the computer science department, to writing programs in MATLAB for the Stratospheric Observator for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) Project. In addition, she has also worked with the SETI Institute studying fluvial landforms on Mars using HiRISE images. Having an opportunity to continue research outside the classroom walls is a passion Ms. Ortega looks forward to fulfilling. Ms. Ortega is excited to bring her expertise to the students at Mill Creek Academy.

Ms. Ortega’s hobbies include playing the piano, dancing ballet, knitting, and walking her dog.