For over two decades, Jack Bungarden shaped the minds of countless students in his AP U.S. History classes at Palo Alto High School. His recent retirement marks the end of a chapter but the beginning of a new one under the guidance of Katya Villalobos, who aims to foster an inclusive environment where every student feels heard and valued.
“When Mr. Bungarden shared that he might be thinking about retiring, I asked our instructional leader, Ms. (Mary) Sano, if anyone else was interested,” Villalobos said. “I started really thinking about, ‘Hey, do I want to do this again?’ I really looked into it. I talked to Mr. Bungarden a lot last year and we started collaborating more so I was very excited to be back in APUSH.”
Villalobos started working at Paly as a student teacher in 1996. Later, she became a teacher at Paly and taught World History, U.S. History, U.S. Government and Contemporary World History. Then, she was an instructional supervisor at Paly. Afterward, she served as the assistant principal at Paly from 2008 to 2010 and as principal at Gunn High School from 2010 to 2014.
According to Villalobos, this year’s APUSH curriculum will be the same level of difficulty as Bungarden taught it.
“Regardless of the teacher, APUSH is a rigorous class,” Villalobos said. “From the colonial era to the 1990s, students read 40-50 pages in two weeks and have quizzes every two weeks. There is also additional homework, specific writing skills and the pacing is quick.”
Villalobos said she also plans to cover additional, more in-depth material.
“While I emphasized the learning objectives, there will be topics that I will add too, like how the federal government changes, particularly during pre and post-civil war era,” Villalobos said.
According to Villalobos, working with students was a major part of her decision to become a teacher again in 2019 and she wants her students to feel heard and included.
“The students are why I became a teacher,” Villalobos said. “In the classroom is where the magic happens. I want to create a sense of community for them, where they can feel brave enough to always ask me questions and to talk to each other and to get to know each other.”
According to Villalobos, collaboration among peers is integral to her teaching philosophy as students can learn a lot from one another.
“The first few days of APUSH, I loved it because I got to hear their conversations for their review slides, which totally made my day,” Villalobos said. “That’s the idea about being heard, feeling included, knowing that they can feel like they can accomplish something and APUSH is going to be okay and I’m going to help them through it.”
Villalobos said that being a teacher is truly rewarding and she wants to inspire students through history.
“The first time I stepped into the classroom, I absolutely loved it,” Villalobos said. “I said, ‘Oh my god, this is what I’m going to do.’ The atmosphere of the classroom just totally got me.”
According to junior and current APUSH student Silvia Rodriguez, Villalobos’ lectures are always engaging.
“She is always excited about what she’s teaching and really does have a passion for history,” Rodriguez said. “She shows that through her lectures and just her excitement for the content, which makes this class an amazing experience for us.”
Junior and current APUSH student Brian Liu said Villalobos is very approachable.
“Her outgoing personality makes you feel at ease when around her, making it a lot easier to ask questions,” Liu said. “She also has a really bubbly energy that sort of rubbed off on me.”
For any future APUSH students, Villalobos said the class can teach numerous skills applicable to any discipline.
“If they love history and if they want to be challenged in writing and reading critically, I think this is a class for them,” Villalobos said. “It truly applies to all classes, so if they really want to do that, they would love being part of the class.”
