Before a handful of Jackson Elementary parents, staff and
teachers, Elvia Teixeira was formally introduced as the school’s
new principal Tuesday night at the school board meeting. The board
of trustees approved her appointment before open session as
recommended by Superintendent Wes Smith, who narrowed a field of 72
applicants to Teixeira.
Before a handful of Jackson Elementary parents, staff and teachers, Elvia Teixeira was formally introduced as the school’s new principal Tuesday night at the school board meeting. The board of trustees approved her appointment before open session as recommended by Superintendent Wes Smith, who narrowed a field of 72 applicants to Teixeira.
Teixeira has 22 years experience in education and hails from the Contra Costa County Office of Education where she is Coordinator of English Learner Support. She has worked as an elementary classroom teacher, vice principal, principal, a developer of curriculum and staff trainer.
Her training is ideal, Smith said, because of Jackson’s current condition. It is in Program Improvement year five, a distinction given to schools by the federal mandate No Child Left Behind, based on state testing standards compiled in the Adequate Yearly Progress figures. Jackson was the only school in the district in 2010 to see its test scores slip; three other schools in MHUSD are in PI also, though none in year five which requires special sanctions such as reorganizing the school day and changing curriculum.
Perhaps the harshest sanction available to districts when a school reaches PI year five is firing the school’s principal. The previous principal at Jackson, Garry Dudley, wasn’t fired, but instead retired one month into the 2010-11 school year and 11 days after a Morgan Hill Times story reported that parents, teachers and staff filed 19 complaints over two years.
Former MHUSD educator Ray Jimenez came out of retirement to serve as interim principal through the end of this school year.
Smith said Teixeira’s experience with Program Improvement schools is ideal for Jackson because their English Language Learner students are year-after-year below “proficient” – the NCLB requirement that
“Colleagues who have worked with (Teixeira) describe her as competent, thorough, reflective, considerate of the ideas of others, collaborative and inclusive in planning and implementing ideas, strategies and goals,” Smith said in a statement Wednesday.
She was honored in 2006 as Administrator of the Year while working in the San Leandro Unified district. Teixeira earned her bachelor’s degree in education from Emmanuel College in Boston and has a master’s degree in educational leadership from St. Mary’s College.
Smith said Tuesday at the meeting that he was grateful Teixeira had “an itch” to get back into a school and work with children.
“We did this strategically to get out earlier (than other districts) and find the best. To get the absolute best candidate for that school,” Smith said.
Teixeira will begin July 1. She lives in Concord with her husband James and she said Tuesday during a break in the meeting that they plan to move to Morgan Hill soon.
The board was expecting to also approve a new principal for Martin Murphy Middle School Tuesday night since Barbara Nakasone is retiring this year, but he was unable to attend the meeting at the last minute, according to Smith’s secretary Julie Zintsmaster. Martin Murphy’s new leader will likely be announced at the next board meeting April 15 once the board approves the assignment.
Jackson Elementary by the numbers
484: total enrollment in 2009
43: percentage of Hispanic students
38: percentage of white students
6: percentage of Asian students
2: percentage of Filipino students
23: full-time teachers
792: API score from 2009
768: API score from 2010
676: average API score for Hispanic students in 2010
896: average API score for white students in 2010
Source: Student Accountability Report Card from 2008-09 (latest enrollment data available), California Dept. of Education
