Mrs. Electra Stafford has been an educator at Glendale High School since 2001. She started first as a part of our English department, teaching everyone from freshmen to seniors, and she even taught AP and honors classes. 

Besides her passion for teaching, Mrs. Stafford has been involved in other aspects of our school, such as opening the Glen Wellness Center and the Cloud Academy. She has further earned a counseling degree to help her in her career. 

Mrs. Stafford is also a huge animal lover. She has two horses, two dogs and two cats. 

What would students be surprised to find out about you?

I was one of the first people to go to Coachella when they started it, back in 2003. It was to see a band that me and my husband loved.

What are your hobbies besides being a teacher?

I am a horseback rider, and when I retire one day, I actually want to work with students who are maybe at-risk, and work with horses with them in a horse therapy program. 

What inspired you to become an English teacher?

In college, you explore lots of different things, so I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do for a while. I thought I wanted to go into the health profession and be a nurse to help people. Then I thought I wanted to be a veterinarian. 

But I was also reading books and doing some creative writing, so it kind of all naturally evolved in college. Then once I graduated, I thought, Well what can I do? So I started subbing, and I found out I really loved it. So then later, I got my teaching credential. 

Has teaching been something you’ve always wanted to do?

I think I discovered when I first started to teach little ones, it was really exciting. Then I started subbing in middle school and high school, and I loved to see how each stage is really different, and I really just enjoyed it. So I discovered it later on, when I started working with kids more closely and volunteering and substitute teaching. So yes, it was absolutely something I wanted to do. 

What gave you the idea to open the Glen Wellness Center?

So the Wellness Center is something that a lot of schools in the district were starting to become interested in doing, especially after the pandemic. And there were a lot of things that students needed to sort of unpack, and teachers as well, since the pandemic was really hard. 

So Counselor [Mayra] Gonzalez, Ms. [Betsy] Astor and myself went to Dr. [Benjamin] Wolf, and we proposed that we open a center at that time. And so we talked about different programs that could come out of it, which are still kind of evolving.
When did you find a passion for horses?

So my mother had a horse. She loved horses growing up, and she bought an Arabian horse when I was ten. And so I grew up around horses. She actually calls my horse her grandhorse!

If you are interested in visiting the Glen Wellness Center, please go visit Mrs. Stafford, either during snack or lunch, in Room 6105. You can check out the calendar to find out when access is available. There is also a therapy dog named Maya, who is usually there every Wednesday at lunch. She also goes to visit certain classes and students are able to ask questions about her. 

Stay well, Nitros!