Uploaded: Thu, Apr 29, 2021, 1:51 pm
Jonathan Pharazyn, a former Mountain View teacher and school administrator known for championing the needs of underserved students, died in a bicycle accident earlier this month. He was 66.
Pharazyn began working in Mountain View Whisman schools in 2000 as an assistant principal at Graham Middle School and capped off his 35-year career in education as a teacher at Monta Loma Elementary until 2016. Characterized by his upbeat persona and social justice streak, Pharazyn stayed active in schools as a substitute teacher into retirement.
Born in San Francisco as an only child, Pharazyn spent his youth living in both San Carlos and Honolulu, eventually moving to the East Bay where he graduated from Pittsburg High School. He attended Reed College in Portland and the University of California at Berkeley before taking a hiatus from the Bay Area to attend school in Illinois.