August 14, 2008

Changing of the guard at local Almaden Schools

By Shana McLean Moore
Staff Writer

There’s change in the air for Almaden’s middle and high schools for the upcoming school year as each adjusts to new members of their respective administrative teams. While some of the shifts reflect promotions from within, others involve new hires who bring fresh perspective and experience to Almaden’s award-winning schools.

Castillero Middle School

Katrina Johnson, principal
Castillero’s new principal, Katrina Johnson, moves up the ranks from her previous position as assistant principal (AP) of instruction. Having earned both a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s in education from San Jose State, Johnson strives to do good work in the city she was trained in.

Castillero assistant principal, Judy Frazier, left, and new principal Katrina Johnson.

“I pretty much cut my teeth at Castillero,” said Johnson. “I taught English for eight years at the school and acted as an instructional coach.”

She went on to achieve National Board Certification, which led her to the district office where she spent time as a resource teacher in professional development. The experience, she said, was a wonderful growth opportunity, but she also missed regular contact with students.

Johnson returned to Castillero and worked for two years in two different assistant principal positions before assuming her new role as principal. “Ten years is a significant percentage of my life and Castillero is a second home to me, literally. My husband can attest to that!”

Johnson is grateful for the excellent teacher and administrator mentors she has had at Castillero, including outgoing principal Sue Walker who is moving on to Pioneer High School. “Sue was extremely supportive of me when I was teaching and continued to be when I became an AP. I have a tremendous amount of respect for our staff and pride in what our students accomplish. Every year we carefully review our data (test scores and climate surveys) and see where we need to improve. We are fortunate to have incredible diversity at Castillero. We are constantly seeking ways to get to know students as best we can so that we can appropriately address their strengths, interests and needs in an effort to fully support them in making steady growth and experiencing success.”

Judy Frazier, assistant principal of instruction
Judy Frazier, Castillero’s new assistant principal of instruction brings a wealth of experience to her new role. Having worked as a classroom volunteer and as an involved member of the PTA while raising her own two children in the district, Frazier remembers well the parent’s perspective of education.

She went on to work in the district as a teacher’s aide and a substitute teacher for grades K-12. This led her to pursue an MA in learning handicaps to help serve the diverse learning needs of San Jose Unified students. Following her graduate program, Frazier worked as a special education teacher at John Muir Middle School for more than 10 years. This past year, she served as program specialist at the district office.

Castillero made a good first impression on Frazier. “Castillero is an outstanding school, with staff and faculty who work diligently to educate and serve the students entrusted to their care,” she said. “Its academic program is a reflection of a well-rounded and student-centered curriculum designed to create opportunities for academic growth. I am excited to use my skills and experiences to benefit the students of the Castillero community,” she added.

Bret Harte Middle School

Melitta Nerhood, assistant principal of integration, motivation, attendance
Bret Harte’s new assistant principal, Melitta Nerhood, joins the administrative team after 15 years of experience in the district’s elementary schools. With nine years as a fifth grade teacher and six years as a Title I resource teacher, Nerhood is eager to transition into middle school.

“I often reminded my students to prepare themselves for middle school by saying, ‘You’d better get ready—it’s going to be a challenge’ and now I find myself gearing up for this wonderful opportunity to share my leadership experience.”

Bret Harte’s new administrators Melitta Nerhood, left and Darbi Pannell. Photo by Shana Moore.

Nerhood is a nationally board-certified instructor and has served as a mentor for new teachers. She has also worked as a school site council member and on district curriculum and community meetings. She is proud to have led grade-level teams to increase their students’ academic success via data analysis and dynamic teaching practices.

“I look forward to working at Bret Harte, supporting students and teachers, and working closely with the parents of our school community,” said Nerhood.

Darbi Pannell, assistant principal of discipline and activities
Darbi Pannell, Bret Harte’s new assistant principal in charge of discipline and activities, became passionate about education at an early age.

She began her teaching career in southern California 11 years ago, teaching middle school language arts and history for four years before moving to San Jose. Pannell’s experience brought her to Hoover Middle School where she taught seventh and eighth grade language arts and leadership for four years.

Pannell then became an assistant principal at Hoover after completing her master’s degree in educational leadership. “This year I look forward to learning about my new community and working with the entire school community to make Bret Harte the best it can be while assisting with student discipline and coordinating the sports program,” said Pannell.

Leland High School

Liz Chamberlin, principal
Leland High School welcomes four new administrators this fall, with Liz Chamberlin stepping into the role of principal. Chamberlin has been involved with education for 22 years, starting as a science teacher at Willow Glen High School.

She then served as AP of athletics at Pioneer High School for three years before moving on to another AP position at Lincoln High School. After four years at Lincoln, Chamberlin led the district’s summer school programs for one year before assuming her new position at Leland.

Leland’s new administrative team, from the left are Dorothy Kennedy, Daryk Tenorio, Nancy Dauenhauer (returning), Liz Chamberlin and Victoria Kim. Photo by Shana Moore

Leland is a natural fit for Chamberlin, whose husband taught at the school for 32 years and whose daughter is a recent alumnus. “I am honored to serve the Leland community and look forward to continuing the work with our parent and community groups so that all of our neighbors are proud to live in the Leland community,” she said.

Dorothy Kennedy, assistant principal, instruction
Dorothy Kennedy joins Chamberlin as Leland’s new AP of instruction.

Kennedy brings 38 years of experience in education to her new position, starting her teaching career in 1970 as a classroom teacher and has taught in grades pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.

She has worked as an AP and principal at both the middle and high school levels. “I look forward to working with the team on behalf of all Leland students,” said Kennedy.

Daryk Tenorio, assistant principal, discipline
Taking over the role of AP of discipline is Daryk Tenorio, who joins the team with 16 years of experience in the field.

Tenorio began his career in San Francisco working as a teacher of U.S. history and as dean of students.

He moved down the peninsula to take an AP position at Gunn High School in Palo Alto. His latest position was that of principal of Horace Mann Elementary School. Tenorio is excited to be working again in secondary education because he feels it is a better fit for his background and experience.

Victoria Kim, assistant principal, activities
Victoria Kim has spent most of her professional career at Leland and refers to it as her home.

“I am starting my seventh year as a Leland Charger and my first as an administrator. In the midst of finding ground in a new job, there is nothing more comforting than familiar faces and surroundings. One of my major goals this year will be to increase school spirit; we want our entire school community to be proud to be Leland Chargers,” said Kim.

Prior to taking the AP position, Kim taught English, English as a second language and advanced journalism.

Pioneer High School

Sue Walker, principal
Sue Walker, Pioneer High School’s incoming principal, graduated with many of her former students from Castillero Middle School this past June by moving on to the high school level for this coming school year.

Walker started off in administration 12 years ago when she split her time between AP duties at Burnett Academy and Castillero, followed by four additional years exclusively at Castillero. She then spent four years as principal at Williams Elementary. Walker returned to Castillero as principal three years ago before being asked to be the principal of Pioneer for the upcoming school year.

Pioneer’s new principal, Sue Walker.

“Some of what I enjoyed most from my time at Castillero was growing our Project Cornerstone program to create room for our parent leaders to find new ways to strengthen our caring school climate,” said Walker.

“I’m of the belief that most of us, especially kids, need to feel a sense of belonging, a connection with someone or some group at school, in order for them to actively engage in learning. What hooked me into school was sports, for others it’s the arts, cheerleading, speech and debate or student leadership. I’m looking forward to working with the staff and parents at Pioneer to continue to create a climate where all students feel intellectually challenged, universally respected, and ‘hooked’ on Pioneer.”

Walker is impressed by what she has seen during her first month on campus at Pioneer. “The group of teachers at Pioneer is really impressive. Most of the teachers either coach, act as advisor to a club or find some other way to actively engage with their students. The parent leaders – the Athletic Boosters, PTSA, and Foundation members – are hugely supportive of the teaching staff and it seems decisions are made based on what is best for the students. I’m impressed with the sense of pride the teachers and parents exude about being a Pioneer Mustang.

I can’t wait to meet the students and get a sense of their level of engagement,” Walker added.