Palo Alto High math teacher Kathi Bowers has been named as the school’s new athletic director, replacing Jason Fung.
The announcement came in a statement released by school Principal Kim Diorio to the staff on Tuesday morning, and then first reported by the Paly Voice.
Bowers has been a math teach at Paly for a total of 27 years, during which she spent time as head coach of the softball team. She said that becoming an AD was her intended goal after graduating from Stanford University.
“I am looking forward to it, but agree it will be a challenge!” said Bowers, who is the first female AD in more than 100 years of athletics at the school and the wife of PAUSD Assistant Superintendent Scott Bowers.
Her first big project will be overseeing the construction of the new gym project, which was supposed to begin last summer but is now scheduled to get under way his summer and take 18 months to complete.
Bowers will have to find space for those Paly teams that used both gyms and the pool, as well as schedule those teams space to train and compete. She said she would teach one math class next year, but spend 80 percent of her time as athletic director.
She also needs to hire a new wrestling coach. Braumon Creighton, who said that he wanted to build a successful program at Paly when he was hired last fall, has left the state to become the new head wrestling coach at Papillion-La Vista School District in Nebraska. The new job title is listed on Creighton’s Linked In page.
Fung, meanwhile, told the Voice that he wanted to return to the classroom and to assist coaching the Paly football and track teams, which is what he enjoys doing.
In the interest of full disclosure, this article should have noted the Kathi Bowers is the wife of PAUSD Asst. Superintendent Scott Bowers.
*that
sounds like more of the same–the good ole boy syndrome at paly. everything is in-house. coaches hired because they are related to the AD or to the supervisors. basketball coach for example. now, we have an AD who is related to supervisor. it never ends at Paly–that is why the athletic department is in such shambles and disarray. the gym was supposed to have started 1 1/2 years ago. it still hasn’t started. favoritism shown to certain programs at the expense of the others. let’s see what this in-house hire leads to. way to go paly.
If this will take her out of the classroom, I think it will be a good thing. Maybe it will give her less time to write math tests that, in my opinion, are out of the curriculum and meant to stump and demean the eager, high track kids.
I think Kathi is a good choice. She is smart, tough and fair.
We need a strong and driven personality to guide both Paly and Gunn athletics and I think Kathi will give us that. I’ve known both Kathi and Scott for many years, and I believe they always place the best interest of the students first. Whoever is the AD at either school needs the support of both administration and parents to be successful.
Congrats to Kathi.
I’ve seen her in action when the ball was dropped (the first time) in getting pool space for the Paly teams when the pool was supposed to close for the original gym construction start date. No punches pulled. She was direct and didn’t fall for fluff and/or excuses.
My personal experience is that she will not tolerate adult laziness or incompetence at all and; she’ll call you out if she thinks you’re full of BS and not working hard for the kids. I’ve seen her take on E. Hansen and K. Diorio and tell them straight to their faces that they failed the kids by not taking care of the issues and details.
Kathi will not put up with good ‘ol boy shenanigans. Performance and results.
Even better – she won’t be distracted by coaching a team (e.g., head football coach). She will support all teams instead of focusing just on the team in pads. How many times did Paly have issues with lost paperwork on transfers – which resulted in forfeits and playoff issues? This won’t happen with a detailed oriented person like Kathi.
This is a great choice and I wish Kathi well.
Crescent Park Paly Parent,
Who again is the in-house, good ole boy basketball ooach you’re referring to? Is it one of the two who brought our city state championships in 93 and 06? Is it the one who brought us a CCS title in 95? Or is it the most recent one who has had several winning campaigns and developed fine young gentlemen in the process? Please clarify…
I wish Kathi the best of luck to what appears to be a tremendous mess left by the outgoing AD. And it’s not Fung I am talking about since he lasted only 2 sports seasons before he missed the students so much. If he missed the students so much, perhaps he should have attended some athletic contests!
This wreaks from top to bottom and there are problems everywhere in that department. The gym project, multiple vacancies of Head Coaches, decline in athletic participation all lead up to this…Paly athletics is spiraling into a recreational department.
And besides coaching Softball and playing at Stanford, what exactly is Ms. Bowers Athletic Administration experience?…oh that’s right she’s the spouse of the HR Asst Superintendent in charge of hiring. Again, Good Luck!
Is this the same Kathi Bower who helped write the infamous Paly Math Letter four years ago that implied that VTP and underrepresented minorities could not handle Algebra II?
@Measure A passed!: Geez, not the math letter again and insinuation of racism. The point of the math letter was to state that underrepresented minorities who have no desire to learn Algebra II should not have to take it. The letter was not to state that teachers did not want to teach the willing and focused ones who are interested in it. Simply put, if you are a teacher trying to teach an unwilling student who doesn’t care to learn, who doesn’t intend on progressing to college, who just wants to finish high school, why waste both your time and the student’s time?
Re the VTP: Can lead a horse to water but cannot make them drink.
Hmmm. I did state that the letter implied that VTP and underrepresented minorities could not handle Algebra II because the letter specifically referred to those two groups, but just wow!, Geez goes so much further by bringing up racism, and some sort of mind-reading of underrepresented minorities having no desire to learn Algebra II, teachers trying to teach unwilling students (are these the underrepresented minorities again?), who also don’t want to progress to college, and then tops it off as comparing VTP students as horses who can’t be forced to drink. Can this get any worse?
For those who aren’t aware, here’s the part of the text that’s so controversial:
“Although 92% of our juniors and 85% of our seniors are presently enrolled in a math class, some of them are repeating courses. 85 students will graduate this year from Paly without having completed Algebra II. A change in graduation requirements could probably motivate some of these students, who have the emotional ability and academic support to do so, to work harder and meet the a-g challenge. We are concerned about the others who, for reasons that are often objective (poor math background, lack of support at home, low retention rate, lack of maturity, etc) can’t pass our Algebra II regular lane course.”
The department then acknowledges:
“Many of these are VTP students or under-represented minorities.”
I don’t read it as saying that no minorities can handle Algebra 2 but rather that there are some students, among them minorities, who can’t handle it – but that’s just my opinion.
responding to a response– you seem to forget about the teams that were forced to forfeit play-offs or their entire season due to “adult issues” as one AD put it and yet refused to take the blame for the “adult issues”. we all thought he was the over-seer of “adult issues”. ask those teams and kids how they liked that after all of their dedication and hard work–and, oh by the way–it wasn’t the football team that forfeited games. since you brought up the state championship bb team, ask the team a year or two later when they had to forfeit games due to an ineligible player because he was playing high school for his 5th season. again, the excuse “we didn’t know any better”?? really–what is his job again–oh, that’s right he was the AD. and regarding the “related” coach developing fine young men, what about the fine young men/ outstanding basketball players who didn’t even go out for the team, or the ones who went out and then quit, or the ones that transferred to other schools. to some the ends justifies the means, apparently. to the AD, football justified the means. when it came to sharing facilities, one phrase was said several times–“girls belong in the kitchen”. we are sure that was in jest, however… sSo, we really hope the new AD is completely different and will take into account just how hard these young athletes (all of them) work and how dedicated and how much sacrifice they put in to trying to succeed. we can only hope the “adult issues” get taken care of by “adults”.
Seriously how is the current basketball coach “related” to anyone at Paly? You may question how he is doing but he wasn’t a “good ole’ boy” hire
She is more fit than anyone else to do this job. As a student at PALY I am proud to say that Mrs. Bowers is a respected and adored member of our community and we are all beyond blessed and happy to have her in this position.
Mrs. Bowers is more than capable to be the new AD. She is a positive representative of the Paly community and as a student I am confident that she will do an exceptional job
Kathi Bowers is beyond competent. If your student felt demeaned by her tests that’s because your student did not belong in that lane. She is beyond fair and cares about her students more than any teacher I’ve met at this school. She’s had children go through the athletics programs at both Paly and Gunn and is an active member of the community. She’s been a dedicated member of the Paly community for 27 years. If she wanted her husband to pull strings for her she would be the IS of the math department. She is 100% qualified for this position and is a strong and deserving woman.
@Measure A passed This is hilarious. You are the exemplification of the misinformed Palo Alto adult. It seems as though it is better to be uninformed than misinformed. As a student at Paly coming from the VTP I can personally attest to Mrs. Bowers’ work ethic, not only in her passion for sports/mathematics but to help all of her students, especially those of us struggling. I am excited to see how the next year unfolds as I am positive she will do a fantastic job.
It’s only too bad we can’t clone Kathi so she can continue to teach full time and be the AD. My daughter has really enjoyed being in her class and we think she is a caring and gifted teacher and advocate for students. I’m sure her passion for excellence will transfer to her new position and we congratulate her on her new job!
Hey Paly! If you don’t want her, we’ll take her in a heartbeat at Gunn. She is, and always has been, on the side of kids. I’m Viking Green with envy at your good fortune landing in your athletic department.
I am so excited for Kathi to be part of the athletic program. She is smart, dedicated, kind, and most of all really cares about our students. She does not back down from any challenge. Those of you saying she got it because of her husband’s position are rude and crazy. Everyone in the PAUSD district knows how qualified and amazing she is. It is no secret that Kathi Bowers is an amazing person and loved by everyone she meets. As for her math class, students love her teaching so much that it is commonly known throughout PALY that she is the teacher to have. In addition, students go to her for help with personal issues and scheduling issues even if she isn’t their TA. So get the facts next time you want to say mean things about a great person.
That math letter was a racist letter. It tried to use code such as underrepresented minorities, meaning our black and Latino students and it did imply that their parents could not provide the necessary support because of stereotypical, prejudicial assumptions that black, Latino, and/or VTP students are the problem. Kathi and the gang never mentioned that their ow expectations of the above groups might be the central issue, or that their inability to differentiate instruction for students could explain lower achievement. People have been trying to sweep that letter under the rug, and while it is admirable to defend Kathi, she willingly signed that letter. Bad luck for her that it went public, but that also spoke to the lack of transparency that she and Scott Bowers are famous for. If that letter was so good, republish it again for the new crop of students, especially the supposed VTP student who has posted. She might be good in the AD position, but she blew it on the letter.
Whoa, Nellie, or rather whoa Palo Alto Online censors! Why does any mention of race get deleted? Is it because some of us are actually members of the underrepresented minority class? I, too, found, in my respectful, humble opinion, that the infamous Paly Math Letter was racist. That is my opinion, why can it not stand? Oh yeah, and I agree that Kathi Bowers should answer for that letter. I hope the Town Square has the opportunity to read or ignore my words, rather thanh age my input stricken.
Hello Measure A Passed,
Bowers is Kathi’s married name. Her maiden name is Dominguez and she is Hispanic. She’s the first person in her family to graduate from a 4-year university. She’s not racist.
Mrs. Bowers is the bomb.com! She is by far the best teacher at Paly! Her being in the Athletic Department makes me want to play a sport.
Many of us cringe at Hispanic, Latina is my preference, and a lot of us already know that, and guess what, our ethnicity or race does not provide us immunity. But I applaud Mother for being the unique judge of who is racist. Mother should read a bit more carefully my previous post and she will see that the Paly Math Letter is racist. The opinion is that the letter is racist, the fact is that she signed it.
First Hispanic female Athletic Director! Go Paly!!
Truth is the truth. Registered users know what I’m talking about.
don’t be so quick to assume that there is no relationship with the coach. nothing against the coach–but it is the good ole boy syndrome. there is a lot of dirt under the carpet at paly. but, they are quick to want our money with the measure A issue.
She may be a good teacher, strong woman, etc, but the fact remains that she is elitist, classist, and racist. There should be ZERO tolerance for such people in the school district.
Kathi Bowers is Hispanic? Since when? Nothing about her seems Hispanic, so if she is, it’s not relevant.
Last year, my son’s counsellor told us that there have been quite a few complaints about her and her homework loads, as well as her snippy responses to kids who ask questions in class.