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Changes are in order at East Palo Alto Academy, a public charter high school in the Sequoia Union High School District. After working as vice principal at the school for two years, Veronica Miranda-Pinkney will take over as principal on July 1.
She will replace Amika Guillaume, who has held this position at the school for nine years and is now headed to Peninsula Bridge, where she will work with students from fourth grade through their college and career transitions.
“Amika’s been here so long, I feel like this is her school, she’s totally helped build it; so many of the things we have in place, she helped start them, like our advisory class, our graduate profile — there’s so many things that are tied to her,” said Miranda-Pinkney in an interview with this news organization. “She has huge relationships with the community; I hope to be half the admin that she is.”
Guillaume has a very simple piece of advice for her successor. “One of the things I’ve told every administrator that I’ve ever worked with is — you have to make sure the thing that brings you joy is something that you build into your schedule,” she said. “It’s very easy for a principal to say ‘I don’t have time’ or ‘I am overwhelmed’ but if you schedule for those moments of joy, you will make sure you take that time and that is a priority.”
As vice principal, Miranda-Pinkney was in charge of all the discipline-related duties relating to students’ behavior and attendance, as well as school safety. As principal, she will be more of an “instructional leader,” with a much larger operation to run, she said.
“It’s a lot more meetings, a lot more work, a lot more responsibility, but I’m definitely ready for the challenge,” she said. “I feel all my years of experience and leadership have prepared me for this.”
She has been an educator for 26 years and spent a large part of her career at San José Unified School District.
In her new role, she will lead about 65 staff members and 300 students. She will receive coaching from a mentor at the San Mateo County Office of Education.
“One of my goals is to make sure I include staff feedback and make my decisions collaboratively with my staff,” she said, keen to ensure they have a voice in matters going forward. “I want the staff to know I value what they have to say.”
Recently, some teachers raised concerns about the process that preceded Miranda-Pinkney’s hiring. She didn’t respond to a request from this publication to comment on the matter.
Miranda-Pinkney’s new objectives include renewing the school’s charter and pushing for increased student enrollment. The latter is a consequence of families moving out of the area, especially post-pandemic, she said. Ensuring students are involved with community service locally helps market the school which, in turn, helps with student recruitment, she said.
This community service is not just local; she is in fact taking a group of 12 students on an international trip between June 26 and July 5, as part of a program organized by Dream Volunteers. “We’re going to go build a school in Guatemala,” she said.
This will be the second group to go on such a trip. “The kids have to really get down and dirty and put in labor.”
One of the more challenging parts of her job is dealing with students who come from socially disadvantaged families who have difficult situations at home, like financial problems or family trauma. Showing empathy and dedicating resources and time can help, but changing the students’ circumstances is not possible, she said.
“I’m a very emotional person,” she said. “The hardest thing is when there’s not a whole lot you can do.”
To stay recharged, Miranda-Pinkney makes sure she takes time out to relax, travel along the coast and spend time with her two sons. On working days, she comes in from San Jose at 6 a.m. and walks along the Bay Trail for two hours.
“That’s my sanity, she said. “I come back refreshed, ready to face whatever comes my way.”