Mr. Steve Hamm has been an educator for the past 23 years. He taught English for 15 years at Union Middle School prior to moving into administration. He began his principal tenure at Piedmont Middle School and is currently the Principal at Kennedy Middle School in Cupertino. Mr. Hamm strongly believes in work/life balance - for staff, teachers and students alike. As an instructional leader, Mr. Hamm strives to bring social-emotional curricula into the classroom and as professional development for his staff. He believes that happy people are productive people and his job is to make them happy.
Aside from Rob’s mother, Agnes Felicano, his classroom teachers were his best role models of successful and responsible individuals. In fact, his teachers were some of the most positive influences on his life in ways they may never know. His passion for studying History, for example, began as a 6th grade student. His teacher, Mrs. Loree Nichols, inspired his love of Ancient Civilizations, and led him to becoming a 6th grade teacher himself.
Many of his favorite teachers were alumni from California State University, Chico. With that in mind, he chose to enroll at Chico State to once again follow in their footsteps. Chico was a wonderful chapter in his life – it was the institution where he earned not only a B.A. in Liberal Studies, but also his teaching credential, and M.A. in Education in Curriculum and Instruction. After graduation, he was thrilled to begin teaching Humanities as a 6th grade teacher in Los Angeles.
Since 2014, he has had the privilege of being part of the 6th grade faculty at Columbia Middle School in Sunnyvale, California. Although his primary curriculum is History and Literature, he makes social emotional learning a priority in his classroom. His goal is not only to make learning engaging, but also to hopefully help develop resilient, reflective and confident young people. He is grateful for the amazing mentors he’s had as a young learner. He tries to show the same encouragement for the students he has the opportunity to teach in his classroom each year.
