With two different last names, students would never guess that they start every morning and end every day side by side.

Jesse Gutierrez and Chad Patterson have been married for 12  years, and for the first time, they are sharing a boss. 

“I love it,” Gutierrez said. “We commute together. Today there was no A/C and he came up here and let me borrow one of his little fans. If I was at Cedar Park High School he couldn’t have done that. I just know that he’s got my back.”

Teaching isn’t new to Gutierrez, she came from Four Points Elementary and Cedar Park High School. She will be teaching Spanish I and II for her first year as a lion.

“My Spanish I kids have a little spunk,” Gutierrez said. “They have a lot of energy and they’re keeping me on my toes. As Emily Dickinson said, ‘Hope is the thing with feathers’. I want to inspire my students to embrace learning another language.”

Patterson said it was his long streak of teaching at Leander that ultimately led to his wife’s decision to come here.  

“Having an extra support system here, and it being my best friend, is excellent,” Patterson said. “I want her to really enjoy working here. I want her to retire here. That’s my goal for her always. For her to be happy.”