Joanne Cloutier is a teacher for Journalism class here at Santa Barbara High School. She started last year at SBHS as a Special Education teacher teaching Individual Instruction, and co- teaching English 9. She’s originally from New York City and moved to Santa Barbara three and a half years ago after going to school in Boston and then Phoenix. What inspired her to become an educator was watching the teachers who taught her kids when they were young. She loves everything about school, she said “It was natural that I would become a teacher when I felt the time was right”. Before coming to teach at Santa Barbara High School she was a teacher at San Marcos High School for two years. When I asked Mrs. Cloutier how it felt to teach at a school with such a rich tradition she exclaimed, “SBHS has such a wealth of traditions based on its long and illustrious history. I’m proud to say that I work with one of the oldest school newspapers and teach at one of the oldest high schools in California!”.She loves spending time with staff and students and truly loves working. Before she became a teacher she worked in advertising and Journalism,she said “I feel I’ve already explored other careers I find interesting. If I were to do it all over again, I would probably be a visual or performing arts teacher: I love the arts!”. When she’s not teaching she enjoys spending time with family and friends, exploring new ways to enjoy Santa Barbara, practicing yoga/meditation, creating art and recruiting for her undergraduate alma mater, Smith College.