This school year, Mrs. Anita Arjoyan is our new teacher specialist, and she was born and raised in Glendale. She attended Edison Elementary School, went to Roosevelt Middle School, and graduated from Clark Magnet High School. After high school, she earned her degree in English at UC Riverside. 

Mrs. Arjoyan’s best memories from school are walking to 7-Eleven after class with her friends and going to her favorite coffee shops. Her son and husband were both born and raised in Glendale as well.  

With the amazing passion she has for her students, the bond she has created with them, and her love of school spirit, Mrs. Arjoyan has taken on the role of teacher specialist. Some of her responsibilities include supporting English language learners, ensuring they are accurately identified and put in the correct classes, and working with ELD teachers to support their students. Another part of this job is budgeting, managing state and federal funds and supplemental funds, and buying things for teachers who need them. Mrs. Arjoyan is in charge of “anything that will help bridge the achievement gap for our students.” 

Mrs. Arjoyan has had a great journey so far. Most of her jobs have been in Glendale, and she has always been all-in with any position, fully committed no matter where and what it might be. Her first job was at the LA Unified School District as a teacher assistant. This was when she realized that she wanted to work with students and teach full-time. 

From there, she earned her teaching credential in multiple subjects and proceeded to work at an elementary school. Although she enjoyed working there, after she was called to be a substitute at Roosevelt, she came to the realization that she really wanted to work with older students. 

Mrs. Arjoyan began working at Roosevelt in 2014 as an ELD and English teacher. Then, in 2021, she began working as a teacher specialist there for about a year. After this long journey, she moved to the District office, and she continued her inspiring work there, helping refugee and newcomer students and families. She was also the head of the All Things Gifted and Talented Program. 

Even though she enjoyed her time at the District office, Mrs. Arjoyan missed working with students, so she decided to return to a school site. Luckily, she heard that there was an open position at GHS this year, so she did everything she could to come to our campus! 

Through all of these positions, schools and situations, Mrs. Arjoyan’s favorite job is still teaching. She has an incredible passion and commitment for working with students and being a safe space for newcomers to the US. She still remembers, and carries with her, all of the stories and students that she has had in the past. 

Mrs. Arjoyan still gets recognized by her first group of students who remember her by her maiden name, Ms. Avetyan. For many of her students, she was their first introduction to this country, and she felt like their safe space, which only made her love for teaching grow. 

Mrs. Arjoyan lives by her students’ achievements. She remembers one student who was in her ELD class in the 6th grade, and two years later that same student was in her Advanced English class. 

Another amazing story she remembers vividly is a certain skater student who was not academically motivated. All the other teachers had given up hope on him, except Mrs. Arjoyan. She promised to buy him any skateboard he wanted, as long as he received at least straight Ds and earned enough credits to move on to high school. With her hard work and dedication with him, he promoted, got his skateboard and kept it for many years. 

Mrs. Arjoyan has one main piece of advice to all students everywhere: be a part of school activities. The energy found at school events, like football games and Round Up, is something that you really cannot recreate after high school. “Now, as an adult, I really wish I had that experience,” she said.

Besides the big impact she has made on her students, Mrs. Arjoyan still maintains a stable and important family life. She loves cooking fun recipes with her husband for specific weekdays, and she also enjoys hosting, sending out food to loved ones, and traveling with her family. 

We are so excited to have Mrs. Arjoyan here as a part of our GHS team! She will make our school a better place with her amazing efforts, dedication and ambition. “Thank you to the students, teachers, admin and the whole GHS team,” she said. “It has been really nice. I am so excited!”