When he was studying cancer through physics, Juan Ledesma never thought he’d become an administrator, but things don’t always go as planned.
Ledesma went to Hartnell College for his associate’s degree, transferred to UC Santa Cruz for his bachelor’s degree, and then transferred to the University of Wisconsin Madison, enrolling in a 5 year program to pursue his medical physics masters and Ph.D., studying cancer through physics.
“I loved math and physics but also wanted to do something in the medical field. So I found something that combined them all,” Ledesma said.
During the first quarter Ledesma spent studying in a cubicle which made him have second thoughts. Although he loved math, he felt unsure about pursuing the 5 year program during the first quarter. He liked the courses, but did not like life as a researcher. Ledesma noticed that it wasn’t his true passion. He took a gap year. He decided to come back to Salinas, where he worked at Hartnell as the activities director of internship programs. “Being in a cubicle coding was not something for me. I am a people person and wanted that interaction.”
During this time he realized he loved helping people, so when the gap year was almost up Ledesma applied for both the medical Physics Ph.D at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and a teaching program called Teach For America. “I got accepted into both, and decided to take the leap into teaching,” Ledesma said.
Teach for America is an intense program. A 5 week boot camp during the summer . This involved planning classes, workshops and teaching at a school in Inglewood. After the summer program, Ledesma was placed in a low-income high need school, Richmond High School in the Bay Area. Teaching 6 periods of Algebra 1 to 9-10 grade students who had failed the course 1 or 2 times, as well as 2 classes of newcomers.
“We would be working from 6 am until 1/2 am almost every day. It was also fun since it was during a World Cup so we got together to watch those games and we got to explore LA,” Ledesma said.
After completing his teaching program, Ledesma came back to Salinas and started teaching at Alisal in the summer of 2015. He was assigned to teach the 9th and 10th grade houses, teaching math 1, 1+, 2, 2+ for the past 9 years. “I came in looking for a summer job and was offered to teach the following year,” Ledesma said.
While teaching, he noticed that he was contributing to changes among students and teachers, but he felt like he could do more. Not as how he is now but as someone at a higher position. He noticed that teachers needed more support so that they could influence students to go beyond their expectations. “ I felt like if I left the classroom I can replicate that on a school wide and not at my 150 students that year,” Ledesma said. “I felt satisfaction, I made the right choice seeing students reach higher than expected, that the only barriers are the ones we put,” Ledesma said.
He has been participating in extracurriculars ever since he first became a teacher, coaching the soccer team and helping with the Mathletics club.
Before 2020, Ledesma had expressed to Ernesto Garcia, the principal, that he was interested in more leadership positions. In 2020, Coach Jose Gil reached out to Ledesma to be assistant athletic director dealing with athletes, teachers, coaches and parents, during the Winter season while Gil was coaching. “He was great. He was eager to learn and asked many questions. I always stayed connected to him and wasn’t going to let him fail,” Gil said.
In 2022 Garcia got a promotion to associate superintendent and Christina Perez was promoted to principal, which created a spot for Ledesma.
“The decision to become an administrator was not easy. But I knew if I wanted to have more impact on more students I needed to go into a position that would allow me to implement my vision and make decisions,” Ledesma said.
The role of assistant principal presented him with a considerable workload, especially with a new baby and his wife, Joanna, working on the same campus. With Joanna’s help, Ledesma was given time to adjust to the new position and excel into his role once he got used to it. Joanna was proud of him for how far he had come and wanted to help him in any way she could because she knew that taking that position would help him grow and learn.
However, this year Ledesma was presented with the issue that he could not work in the same school as wife even if they work at different positions, meaning that one had to move to a different school next year. While he has requested to transfer to Alvarez, the district has not approved the transfer yet. “I requested Alvarez because it is the only other school where it would feel like home. I graduated from there so I would have a sense of pride in potentially working there. Going to Alvarez will provide me the opportunity to make change. I want to be a part of the team that transforms it back to a top school in the county, like when I was there in 2002 – 2006.”
Ledesma will always see himself as the role of a teacher, and if being an assistant principal doesn’t work out for him then he wouldn’t mind going back to the classroom and teaching. “The classroom is where my heart is and will continue to be,” he said. “I can see myself going back if this new role does not work out for my goals.”
For the future, Ledesma strives to become an educational leader that creates opportunities for students in Salinas to achieve their goals and be successful. “I want to be an educational leader that creates opportunities for students in Salinas to achieve their goals and be successful. Whether that is one day being principal or taking on other leadership roles,” Ledesma said.
