Beginning a new school year means that new things will come and older ones will pass with time. Over the years Hughson High School, has had numerous new students and staff members come into the school while watching the older ones that are loved so dearly leave just about every year.

This time, during the 2024-2025 school year, two new teachers joined the campus and helped lead the pack to an enjoyable and successful educational experience for all the Huskies who have their classes.

The new teachers are Madison Flake and Phil Tubera; two amazing people who are well loved by their students and peers just two weeks into the new school year. 

Flake works in the Agriculture department of HHS. She started her life growing up in La Grange, a small town existing a while off from the local area of Hughson. She attended Fresno State University from 2018-2022 and achieved her Bachelor’s degree for Science in Agriculture Education. She then completed a credential program to obtain her Single Subject Teaching credential so she could officially become a sole agriculture teacher. 

Flake wanted to become a teacher because she enjoys the environment of the school system and how it gives children a chance at discovery, as she stated, “I decided to become a teacher because I have always appreciated how the school atmosphere gives kids a great support system to find their path in life.” Giving kids the choice to their careers and the classes they may be interested in to get to them is important to their development and general education.

Flake’s favorite part about being a teacher, stating, “my favorite part about teaching is building relationships with the students and being part of their experience to grow into strong leaders of the future. Teaching agriculture provides a lot of hands-on learning, community involvement activities, and collaboration amongst their peers.” A person will learn better if they are learning something they enjoy, which is the reason why teachers like Flake work in the Agriculture department. 

Flake decided to carry her career to our small community of HHS, stating, “I decided to work at HHS because I had the privilege of student teaching with the HHS Ag Department in [the] Fall of 2023 where I learned so much and just felt like it was a really good fit for me.” Not only did Ms. Flake decide to take up the job here at HHS, she has also had a major impact on our students.

HHS Junior Hannah Ricks talked about her experience being in Flake’s class this year, stating, “Ms. Flake is super flexible! You can tell she became a teacher because she actually wants to teach. The environment she has in her class room is something I won’t forget when I graduate.” Having a positive impact on your students, especially this early into the year, is something that is a great feature for a teacher to have.

Being able to fluctuate between teaching, personal life, responsibilities that branch off of teaching, and more is a talent that not many people can possess. Hannah followed up by commenting, “Ms. Flake’s class is really fun! Even though we’re only two weeks in, I can tell that the rest of the year is going to be super fun.” Enjoying a class is important to students’ learning, and Flake is a superhero for being able to pursue this very easily with her new classes! Hughson High is so happy to have her with us at HHS and we hope she has an amazing first year!

Phil Tubera is new as well and works in the Special Education department of HHS. He grew up in a small nearby town called Waterford and graduated from Waterford High School. For college, he attended CSU Stanislaus and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in the subject of History. Not only that, Tubera is also a very well loved football coach for our Huskies football team, proving he is an excellently varied person and works extremely hard for our community.

Becoming a teacher is never an easy job, but Tubera was happy to go into the teaching department and had his own reasons for becoming a teacher, stating, “I decided to become a teacher because my teachers and coaches were the people I looked up to the most. I want to pay that forward to my students.” Being a teacher means being an inspiration. A lot of students look up to their teachers because they find them to be smart, kind individuals who carry you to your future.

There is also a larger aspect of the community that comes with being a teacher. The community here in Hughson is vast and unique, making it a large part of our motive as a town. Tubera shared his reason for becoming a teacher at HHS, stating, “I decided I wanted to work at HHS shortly after I started coaching football for Hughson. I fell in love with the community and made a lot of friends.”

Being passionate about the job is also a very important part of becoming a teacher. Teachers need to develop a love for education and be fully aware that when you become a teacher, you are stepping into a spot that requires you to be a positive influence on the younger generations you teach. Tubera commented on what he loves about his teaching job, stating, “My favorite part about teaching is having the opportunity to build and maintain positive relationships with students that are based on trust and mutual respect. It is the foundation for the teacher-student learning experience.”

It is very clear to everyone that Tubera loves both of his jobs here at HHS, which makes him very well loved between his students and peers. HHS Student Audrey Uribe commented that she had Tubera’s class for a very short time period and yet she loved every second of it. She stated, “He’s very kind to his students and he’s a really good guy.” Having someone who is there to help further education and give a hand with harder learning all while multitasking the job between teaching and coaching is a unique trait in itself, but the hard job is no match for Tubera who works hard everyday to inspire his students and loves his job.

These two teachers are taking on the handful of work that goes into teaching as well as helping out a growing community here at HHS. Not only do they both work very hard for their students’ education, they work hard for their peers and to inspire their students to strive towards a career of hardship and rewarding collaboration. The students and staff at HHS hope that Flake and Tubera have a lovely first year teaching at HHS and continue to make great impacts in their future!