Principal Leadership Institute Grads Having Impact in San Francisco

Just three years after the program’s launching, graduates of the Principal Leadership Institute (PLI) are already making important contributions in districts around the Bay Area. In San Francisco, ten PLI alums are in leadership positions, in a wide variety of schools. With the program’s emphasis on principals as instructional leaders, PLI grads are working hard for school reform.

Karling Aguilera-Fort	Teresa Armada

Karling Aguilera-Fort is in his first year as principal of Fairmont Elementary at the edge of the Mission District. The school offers Spanish immersion, English Language Development, and special education. “It’s an exciting challenge to be at Fairmont after all the transitions the school has been through,” Aguilera-Fort said. “I feel I have the support of the community—parents and teachers. I meet with the parents in an open forum called Principal’s Chat twice a month. People are telling me, ‘Now we have a principal who’s getting to know the special ed. students.’”

This year Theresa Armada gave up a relatively cushy assignment as vice-principal of School of the Arts to take on the principalship of Gloria R. Davis Academic Middle School in the Bayview-Hunters Point section. “This is exactly the type of school that the PLI prepares you for,” she said. “I chose Berkeley because its lens was focused where my heart was focused.” Gloria R. Davis Middle School was in a downward spiral of low test scores and declining enrollment. Armada hopes to turn that around. “I believe in this kind of a school,” she said. “This is where education in this country has gone amiss.”

Susan Audap	Jessica Bogner	Mary Lou Cranna

Susan Audap is in her third year as principal of the Dr. William L. Cobb Elementary School, whose population comes mostly from the nearby Fillmore District. Her work often involves intangibles: “A sense of community for families, and for faculty and staff, is terrifically important to me,” she said. “We’re also constantly trying ways to get children more engaged academically.”

Jessica Bogner started out after graduation working for an educational non-profit, Partners in School Innovation. “I was eager to get back to a school site in an administrative capacity,” she said. She’s now the principal of the Japanese Bilingual Bicultural Program, which has recently found a home in the Sunset District. The program integrates Japanese culture and language into an academic setting.

Mary Lou Cranna is delighted with her new job as principal of Hillcrest Elementary School in the Excelsior neighborhood. “The work we did in the PLI was geared to underperforming schools like this one,” she said. “The research we examined gave me a framework to help teachers improve their craft. One phrase keeps coming back to me: ‘Schools should model what society should be, not what it is,’” she said, paraphrasing educator Lorraine Monroe.

Nicole Di Donato	Virginia (Gini) Dold	Kevin Kerr

Nicole Di Donato is the assistant principal at A.P. Giannini Middle School. Her areas of responsibility are curriculum, pupil personnel services, and managing the counseling office. “The rigor of the PLI really prepared me for the sink-or-swim world of an administrator in an urban setting,” she commented.

Virginia (Gini) Dold is in her third year as principal of E.R. Taylor Elementary School. She had administrative experience in the district before starting Berkeley, but “The PLI gave me the opportunity to reflect on what it means to be a leader for school reform,” she said. “I came to a school that had started a reform movement but now we’re bringing the reform movement to teacher practice.”

Kevin Kerr is principal of a school most people don’t even know exists. It’s called Woodside Learning Center, connected with the Juvenile Probation Department next door. The school educates kids who are detained and awaiting trial on serious offenses. “There are only 100 kids here at any one time,” Kerr said, “but 1700 students come through here in a year. We’re committed to giving them the best educational experience we can given the circumstances.” He enjoys working with the students, teachers, and staff, and negotiating the difficult balance between instruction and the demands of the juvenile justice system.

Ana Lunardi	Elizabeth Veal

Ana Lunardi is in her third year as principal of Monroe Elementary, a school in the Excelsior District with a strong Spanish immersion program. “I’m happiest when I’m supporting teachers,” she said, “I also like lunch and recess with the kids.” She’s gratified by the strong community response to her work. “Parents tell me the school is a loving, supportive environment now.”

Elizabeth Veal is the vice-principal at E.R. Taylor Elementary, also in the Excelsior. “It’s a learn-as-you-go job,” she said. “Every situation is different. The continuing network from the PLI helps me with day-to-day matters. A group of us from the program meet once a month informally, not to talk about work—but we always do.”

 

photos this page by Zack Rogow

 

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