While many teachers live approximately 40 minutes away in cities such as Santa Cruz or Half Moon Bay, English teacher Erick Rector has a relatively fast, 20-minute commute from his home in the Santa Cruz Mountains near Los Gatos to Saratoga. 

“Although sometimes Highway 17 has accidents that result in heavy traffic, I usually get to school relatively fast,” he said.

Because of where Rector lives, he can easily drive to school in case he needs to grab something or forgets something at school, which allows him to grow a lot closer to the Saratoga High School community and participate more often in events. As the public address announcer for both the basketball and football teams, he attends all the games for both sports and also occasionally attends drama events once or twice each semester.

Through attending many sports events, he is able to become closer with students and staff members. Because he is always the announcer for the basketball games, he was able to become friends with a staff member doing the score with him, Lindsey Harris, who now works at the district office.

“I grew closer to Harris through the basketball games I attended,” he said. “She is usually at the score table with me so I am able to talk to her in between halves or between JV and varsity games.”

Another bonus of his short commute is that he can access several gyms and grocery stores located at a convenient five-minute drive from his house. Because he often sees students at the Safeway in Saratoga compared to when he goes to the Safeway in Los Gatos, he usually prefers to go to the stores in Los Gatos.

Students and teachers who live in Los Gatos should keep in mind, though: If there is a certain black vehicle zooming down Highway 9 to school, Rector might just be the driver behind the wheel.

“I tend to drive aggressively and so I’m sure there’s plenty of students who have been cut off by Mr. Rector, but hopefully they don’t know,” Rector said.