An assistant principal is taking over as acting principal at Palo Alto High School and the current principal of Hoover Elementary School will move to lead Juana Briones Elementary School next year, the district announced this week.
At Paly, Assistant Principal Adam Paulson was named acting principal this week. He replaces interim Principal Frank "Pancho" Rodriguez, a retired administrator who was appointed temporarily after former principal Kim Diorio took a medical leave and then announced she would resign at the end of the year. Rodriguez is currently out due to the impending birth of his first grandchild but will "continue to provide his expertise to Paly when he is on site" through the end of May, interim Superintendent Karen Hendricks wrote in a letter to parents and students on Tuesday.
Paulson will now serve as the administration's "point person," Hendricks said. Paulson joined Paly in 2014 as a dean of students and teacher on special assignment.
"During this time, we're fortunate to have a strong 'Paly Principals' team leading the work, with a stellar faculty and classified staff also continuing to make great things happen on behalf of students," Hendricks wrote.
The district is holding in-person "needs assessment" meetings with staff, students, parents and community members this and next week to inform the selection of Paly's next principal, Hendricks said. People can also fill out an online survey.
At Juana Briones, Katy Bimpson, a longtime educator and administrator in the district, will replace Principal Tom Jacoubowsky, who is returning to a classroom position after two years at the school. The district has not yet named a replacement for Bimpson.
Bimpson, a native of Palo Alto and graduate of Juana Briones, has worked in the school district for 25 years. She taught at JLS Middle School, Hoover and El Camino Elementary School before she was appointed Hoover's principal in 2012.
Bimpson also teaches classes at Santa Clara University's educational administration leadership program. She holds a master's degree in educational administration from the university.
Anne Brown, the district's interim assistant superintendent for human resources, will be meeting with the Hoover staff to discuss the process for selecting a new principal at the school.
The district is also looking for new principals for Palo Alto High School, where Principal Kim Diorio plans to resign at the end of the school year; Escondido Elementary School, where Principal Chuck Merritt is retiring; and Fairmeadow Elementary School, where Principal Grant Althouse recently announced his family's plans to move out of the area. The district held an open meeting at Fairmeadow on Wednesday to hear from parents and community members about desired attributes in a new principal.
Comments
Juana Briones School
on Apr 18, 2018 at 2:24 pm
on Apr 18, 2018 at 2:24 pm
[Post removed.]
Registered user
Evergreen Park
on Apr 18, 2018 at 3:55 pm
Registered user
on Apr 18, 2018 at 3:55 pm
Oh how wonderful for Briones! An alum of the school who has served as principal before with tremendous success. Good luck to Katy and congratulations to the Briones community for their good fortune.
I hope they are able to find another great person to lead Hoover!
Fairmeadow
on Apr 18, 2018 at 4:54 pm
on Apr 18, 2018 at 4:54 pm
Isn't the Fairmeadow principal also leaving??? That's at least three principal openings...
Hoover School
on Apr 18, 2018 at 6:53 pm
on Apr 18, 2018 at 6:53 pm
Katy Bimpson is the reason so many wonderful educators have left Hoover. Hoover currently has 14 open teacher positions. Good luck Briones!
Green Acres
on Apr 18, 2018 at 8:34 pm
on Apr 18, 2018 at 8:34 pm
Briones used to call itself Ohlone West, and neighbors liked it that way. Hoover’s philosophy is on the opposite end of the spectrum. I wonder how that’s going to work.
Juana Briones School
on Apr 19, 2018 at 6:27 am
on Apr 19, 2018 at 6:27 am
We cheered for Lisa Hickey and then Tom Jacobousky when they arrived. What is the real story? Why did Lisa not want to stay? Why was Tom not allowed to stay? This is now four principals in six years, or seven, depending on how you count.
St. Claire Gardens
on Apr 19, 2018 at 10:22 am
on Apr 19, 2018 at 10:22 am
@Bob, would you care to let us know which current 14 classrooms have openings? As a Hoover parent I would really like to know of all this dysfunction going on that I am not privy to.
Registered user
Leland Manor/Garland Drive
on Apr 19, 2018 at 10:23 am
Registered user
on Apr 19, 2018 at 10:23 am
My Paly freshman is well on her way to her 6th principal in 4 years - 3 different ones at Jordan, and so far 2 Paly subs. Maybe her college essay will be on resilience...
Registered user
Duveneck/St. Francis
on Apr 19, 2018 at 3:07 pm
Registered user
on Apr 19, 2018 at 3:07 pm
@Karen H. I'm curious to hear if the change in pricing has affected your daughters education or learning process.
Greenmeadow
on Apr 19, 2018 at 4:08 pm
on Apr 19, 2018 at 4:08 pm
Palo Alto Weekly- please double check your facts. As another reader already pointed out, Fairmeadow is also conducting a principal search. Their principal is moving out of the area at the end of the school year.
Registered user
education reporter of the Palo Alto Weekly
on Apr 19, 2018 at 4:18 pm
Registered user
on Apr 19, 2018 at 4:18 pm
To PAParent and Fairmeadow parent: Thank you for your comments. I was unaware that the principal of Fairmeadow was leaving but have updated the story to reflect that information.
Old Palo Alto
on Apr 19, 2018 at 4:34 pm
on Apr 19, 2018 at 4:34 pm
[Post removed.]
another community
on Apr 20, 2018 at 7:54 am
on Apr 20, 2018 at 7:54 am
@Bob That information is incorrect. My spouse works at Hoover and only 2 teachers are retiring. Please check your facts before posting.
Green Acres
on Apr 20, 2018 at 10:48 am
on Apr 20, 2018 at 10:48 am
Agree with Dance of the Lemons - This larger story here is the absence of reasoning why we have so much shift at this school district. Gone are the days where the principal stuck around for 20+ years at the same school. Principals need time to become familiar with the parent dynamic, get to know the students and even more importantly, get to know the teachers, help build the teacher careers, coach effectively, identify opportunities, build consistency in the curriculum, etc. I know for a fact that my children area upset that Principal J will no longer be at Briones, and I too am disappointed that he was not "allowed to stay" as Dance of lemons has indicated.
Registered user
Duveneck/St. Francis
on Apr 21, 2018 at 10:57 am
Registered user
on Apr 21, 2018 at 10:57 am
Re Adam Paulson and his being acting principal at Paly--- There were two sexual assault incidents at Paly that came out through the media, Oct. 2016 and Nov. 2015. According to the Nov. 2015 family, Mr. Paulson mishandled his part of the response to the Nov. 2015 sexual assault incident as one of Principal Diorio's designees, causing harm to their daughter. Administrators who caused harm to students, and who did not provide them access to their education, should not be in positions of authority over children, let alone be promoted, in my view. This is what the Nov. 2015 family asserts Mr. Paulson and Ms. Kim did.
Title IX and state law and PAUSD policies say not providing students equal access to education is discrimination. These are not small issues. PAUSD policies were already in place; Mr. Paulson and Ms. Kim just didn't follow them, according to the Nov. 2015 family.
PAUSD apparently has a newly completed investigative report on the Nov. 2015 incident that it received in March 2018 - from Cozen, we think. If these PAHS administrators did nothing wrong, then why not release it and clear everything up both for them and for the community? Aren't we taxpayers on the hook to pay for it? And why not release it prior to considering Mr. Paulson's application to be Paly's next principal?
Palo Alto High School
on Apr 21, 2018 at 11:54 am
on Apr 21, 2018 at 11:54 am
Despite tax payers' money funding public education, when a staff leaves (under pressured resignation), no real explanation is provided and he/she leaves with an (almost?) unblemished record. Even with a highly publicized case such as PALY's ex-principal Phil Winston's departure, he left without bearing much consequences and in fact, received a $150,000 farewell gift, bow and all. And the lemons get passed on to other unknowing districts. The education system is severely flawed in that no serious actions are usually taken against teachers/staff who have made grave mistakes (in spite of expensive Cozen reports for instance) which means students' safety are compromised as a result. Who is the system protecting? Clearly, not enough of the students.
There are folks who firmly believe that the staff turnover, especially at the top, is (mainly) contributed by demanding and unforgiving parents. If following the law and putting our students well being first are too much to ask for, then the bar for staff and teachers are unreasonably low and totally unacceptable.
Hoover School
on Apr 23, 2018 at 12:29 am
on Apr 23, 2018 at 12:29 am
@ Bob, I have a few friends who would like to teach at Hoover, for some weird reason, all the 14 empty spots seem to have magically disappeared. Maybe Katy is also a magician. That woman certainly knows how to work her magic.
So lucky for Briones. They have found a gem in Katy. We will certainly miss her at Hoover. She has a way of making every child feel equally special and have helped create a great community at Hoover, encouraging parent and PTA driven initiatives and assisting teachers in helping every child to reach their full potential. Her implementation of programs like yoga/mindfulness as part of the school curriculum, the Project Cornerstone ABC project, Responsive classrooms, design thinking and so much more. We are so grateful for her leadership and kind spirit.
I know that the wonderful Hoover culture, of respect, kindness, empathy, consideration will continue with the amazing staff, and I can't wait to have my last child come to kindergarten. My family has been so grateful to Hoover for nurturing our children socially, emotionally and academically.
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Apr 23, 2018 at 7:16 pm
on Apr 23, 2018 at 7:16 pm
Katy was hardly the maverick that Hoover needed, and she certainly will not bring anything to Briones, especially what they need, which is teacher quality control. [Portion removed.]
Community Center
on Jul 11, 2018 at 11:08 am
on Jul 11, 2018 at 11:08 am
@Bob
Please help us with some facts. There isn't a single Hoover opening listed on the PAUSD Employment site:
Web Link
Please document your statement, or else we'll be compelled to interpret it as a malicious self-deprecating comment.