Springhill Programs

My name is Jennifer Girard (Ms. G) and I am thrilled to be the counselor for Springhill Elementary. I will be onsite 5 days a week. While I am from SoCal, I have lived in the Bay Area since 2003, and love calling Pleasant Hill my home. As my 8 year old son and 5 year old daughter can attest (with exasperation), I have a passion for the intersection of emotional wellness and education. Looking forward to getting to know your family!

Hello! My name is Valerie Pachall and I am your Springhill LIbrary specialist. I have been in the district for 12 years. I came to Springhill 11 weeks before the shut down so I am technically still in my rookie year. I LOVE to read! my goal is to get your students to become lifelong readers and accurate users of information. I look forward to students in the library again! Stay well and happy reading!

Welcome to Springhill! My name is Jill Tarkoff and I am the Reading Specialist at Springhill. I work with students from Kindergarten to Fifth grade. I also work with English Language Learners. Many know me at the traffic lady during drop off and pick up. I am the teacher in the yellow vest carrying the stop sign as you enter the parking lot. I live with my family in Orinda- my husband, Tom, our son, Joseph and two dogs. Our older son graduated from the University of Alabama and is out in the world working. We enjoy his home visits or when the Northwester Wildcats during football season. Our family enjoys snow skiiing, hiking, tennis, pickleball, playing games, reading and watching movies. I am also an active participant and volunteer at Temple Isaiah in Lafayette and an avid Scouter in the Golden Gate Area Council. 

Hi, I'm Laura Spain, the science teacher at Springhill!  I'm excited to be in the lab and am looking forward to fun times ahead!  I've been teaching at Springhill for many years and have taught grades 1,2,3 & 4 as well as science a while back.  When the position opened up once again, I took the plunge! Come on by for a visit!!