I'm delighted to be working with students and educators through the Careers in Education course. I grew up in San Diego and moved to Seattle in 2011 for my doctoral studies in Curriculum and Instruction (Go Dawgs!). I started my education career teaching high school mathematics in Los Angeles and have since worked in teacher education locally and abroad as well as in SPS as a classroom teacher and district science curriculum specialist. Most recently, I have been teaching 4th and 5th grade at Gatewood Elementary School in West Seattle.

Outside of the classroom, I enjoy cooking and trying new foods, camping in my truck, traveling, doing paleontology field work, and doing anything that gets me outside, like hiking and paddling.

Originally from West Texas, I have lived in Seattle off and on since 2008. In 2010, I received my Master of Social Work from the University of Washington, met my partner, and moved back to Texas to work at various non-profits. During that time, our 1996 Ford Ranger started breaking down and we couldn’t afford repairs. As a kid, I was never interested in learning how to work on cars. Out of necessity, I started working on my own. Mistakes were made, lessons were learned, but the biggest takeaway was that I loved working on cars.

I received my Associate of Automotive Technology from Austin Community College in 2015 and moved back to Seattle. In Seattle, I started my automotive career working at an independent shop that looks at the automotive industry through an anti-racist and feminist lens. There, I taught community workshops, trained new techs and service advisors, and was helping to build a non-profit. In November 2023, I started working part-time with Seattle Public Schools in the automotive program and loved it so much that I decided to go full-time for the 2025-2026 school year! I look forward to continuing to teach my students and learn from my students!

In my spare time, I love doing house projects with my partner, training our sweet Heeler/Pit mix named Harlan Pepper to be the best pup she can be, learning different musical instruments, supporting various local artists, listening to podcasts and audiobooks, scuba diving, and watching TV. Here are a few of my current favorite things:

Current favorite podcast: City Cast: Seattle

Current favorite TV show: Ted Lasso (new season)

Current favorite movie: Project Hail Mary and Steel Magnolias

Current favorite musical artist: Always down for some Dolly Parton (R.I.P)

Current favorite fiction: The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science (series)

Current favorite non-fiction: The Line Becomes a River: Dispatched From The Border

I was raised in the middle of WA State, near Snoqualmie Pass but I’ve lived in Seattle for the past 30 years. I graduated college with a degree in Spanish and went on to build a career as a graphic designer. I am dad to a terrific, creative, energetic eleven year old kid. I started teaching eight years ago, and I have really enjoyed developing my teaching muscles and getting to know a bunch of amazing students.

Let me introduce myself, My name is Mr. Hayes and I was born and raised in Memphis, Tn. My family and I moved here from Houston, Tx. I love football, basketball, photography and family time. I'm most passionate with is Art of all kinds, from still life to interactive graphics. I am very happy to be a part of Seattle Skills Community and look forward in teaching and learning from the next future Artist of America.