Mrs. Ricasata’s Retirement After 26 Impactful Years

Since 1999, the giddy and connective Mrs. Ricasata has taught two classes: Algebra 1 and Geometry. Over the last 26 years, she has brought a desire to build community in her classrooms, constantly gaining new friendships with her math students over the years. Although Ricasata hasn’t been teaching at MBHS for the majority of the year, her legacy lives on in the hearts of the students she’s taught. 

Ricasata first realized she wanted to pursue teaching when she had moved from the Philippines and started high school, as she had a math teacher who she felt greatly influenced by. “It was so awesome, and she took me in, and she even taught me how to speak English and everything,” said Ricasata. From this spark, it ignited Ricasata to attend San Jose State University, where she received her bachelor’s degree in liberal arts.

After teaching at a middle school in the Bay Area after college, Ricasata found herself substitute teaching on the central coast, as her husband got a job in San Simeon. After a year of substitute teaching, she realized that MBHS is where she wanted to reside.

Over the course of the next 26 years, besides teaching, Ricasata had advised clubs and held events in her room for them, such as the Multicultural Club and Asian Pacific Club. “What kept me at MBHS was the people,” said Ricasata, as she fostered communities for MBHS students to come together and connect.

Her connection-building and student-focused nature have been prevalent beyond clubs, but also in her teaching. “She just showed a positive attitude towards me, and it just made it like a class I’d love to go to because she would always make jokes and be super funny,” said senior Tania Serna, who had Ricasata for Algebra 1 and geometry.  “I just really liked how patient and nice she was towards me,” Serna added. 

Another student who’s felt impacted by Ricasata is senior Michelle Gomez, who was in Ricasata’s Algebra 1 and geometry classes, and had painted a painting for Ricasata every year Gomez has been in high school. “I feel like the way she teaches and how she finds a way to make math class interesting by telling stories is so fun,” said Gomez, describing Ricasata’s teaching style. “She reminds me of my grandma,” Gomez added, “and my grandma loves roses and flowers and butterflies, and I’m like, ‘Oh, well, I’m gonna paint her some flowers.’”

Mr. Turner, who is another teacher in the MBHS math department, shared similar sentiments about her ability to connect to her students. “Certain kids click with her so, so much. If you [students] click with Ms. Ricasata, I’ve noticed that students love her, and they say ‘hi’ to her year after year after year,” said Turner, “So there’s something she does in her classrooms that’s really, really beneficial to certain kinds of learners.”

The future of the MBHS math department will be sparse without Ricasata, as she has found many ways to impact students over the years and is the sole Algebra 1 teacher. “We’re missing a giant in mathematics, like for our community. It’s hard enough to find a decent math teacher, but to have one like Ms. Ricasata that cares about the kids, knows their math, and is 100% involved has been great,” said Turner.

Ricasata has been an amazing asset to MBHS through her dedication and care for her students and her community-building approach to teaching math.