Photo from Linda Oliva

Linda Oliva, known as “Momma O” to her students, has been a teacher for 31 years, spanning a multitude of courses such as Spanish, English, Special Education, and English as a Second Language (ESL). Oliva is retiring after the 2025-2026 school year, but her legacy of teaching and connecting with students is memorable from the very beginning. 

“During my first year of teaching in 1995, I almost quit teaching,” Oliva said. Being a new Spanish teacher amongst established, native-speaking instructors created tension and conflict in teaching style. “The principal called me in for a private conference. I had to defend my teaching style and pace.  The other teachers taught the whole school year in three quarters and then planned to review every lesson for the entire fourth quarter for some Spanish test they had to take to show they were ready for high school Spanish 2 the next year.  I remember saying, ‘I’m not rushing an entire school year for Spanish 1 students. I plan to teach correctly the first time, and my students won’t need an entire quarter to review the skills they learned and know well.’”

Utilizing art, games, videos, and music along with textbooks and practice sets, Oliva was able to foster a community in her classroom that was fun and engaging, while prioritizing comprehension and repetition over a course’s speed. 

The disadvantages of being a new teacher, however, didn’t end there. Oliva had no designated classroom for her teaching periods. This meant hauling a supplies cart on wheels across the school to other Spanish teachers’ vacant rooms during their planning periods. 

“I remember another time I got called into the principal’s office because my students had apparently left too much paper trash on the carpet floor,” Oliva said. “To this day, I sweep my classroom at the end of the day because that experience sort of traumatized me.”

In 2003, Oliva became a teacher at Hayfield for English and ESL. Instead of moving from classroom to classroom on wheels, this time, Oliva was teaching in a trailer set up for two classrooms, which is called a double wide trailer. 

“They always say that the first 30 years of teaching are the hardest, and I think that is true,” Oliva said. “In my first year at Hayfield, we were undergoing our second year of renovating our building.  Hayfield had a ton of double wide trailers in the back parking lot extending over the tennis courts. What I do remember is the porta potties in the middle, around trailers 20-25.  My trailer was lucky number #13.”

 Oliva’s teaching career has come a long way since. From teaching various subjects to primarily English 12 classes, Oliva has established herself, just as she had always hoped. 

“When I think about leaving Hayfield, tears well up in my eyes,” Oliva said. “After 31 years, I know it’s time for me to move on, but I am still reluctant to leave the last two groups of ninth graders I taught who will be junior and seniors next year, but I know they will be in good hands with my fellow Hayfield colleagues and friends.”