Foothill High School Community Mourns Death of Beloved Teacher

Friends, family, students and colleagues of JoAnn Koobatian are mourning the beloved Foothill High School choir teacher, who died Friday after an 8-year battle with a rare form of cancer. She was 47.

Koobatian, who joined the Foothill faculty in 1996, rebuilt the choir program at the school after it had disappeared in the 1980s.

Parvin Ahmadi, Pleasanton Unified School District's superintendent, sent the following message to the school community: 

Foothill High School Choral Director and Teacher, JoAnn Koobatain, passed away Friday  night surrounded by her loved ones. JoAnn was truly an inspiration to us all. Her dedication to her students and the music program in Pleasanton was unparalleled. She continued to give her students and the program 100 percent every single day while battling cancer for years. Her legacy will live on forever through the hundreds of students who were fortunate to have her as their teacher. JoAnn will truly be missed.  Information regarding her memorial services will be forwarded to you as soon as we know. 

Valerie Rossman, Koobatian’s colleague and friend at Foothill, said in a tribute to Koobatian on the school’s website that Koobatian was driven by passion: “Nothing stopped her from her love of teaching, her love of her students. She gave 100 percent no matter how sick she was or how big her problems were. She cared for and had compassion for everyone. She was always professional and did her best. She expected that of her students as well.”

She was named Pleasanton’s Teacher of the Year in 2011. In 2012, members of her choir performed with the ‘80s rock band Foreigner during the Wente Summer Concert Series.