New Principals and Assistant Principals Named for 2023-24

Redwood City School District (RCSD) students will return from summer break to find new school administrators welcoming them for the 2023-24 school year. Many of the educational leaders are current RCSD employees embracing new roles while others are new to the District and four have moved to California specifically to serve RCSD students. 

During the spring and summer, the following educational leaders were appointed to their new roles, which were effective July 1, 2023:

Clifford School: Principal Kristy Jackson

Kristy Jackson transfers from Roy Cloud to be at the helm of Clifford School starting with the 2023-24 school year. She most recently served as Cloud’s assistant principal since returning to RCSD in 2018-19. 

Kristy returned to RCSD after having taught for 12 years at College Park Elementary School with the San Mateo-Foster City School District. Before her time in San Mateo-Foster City, Kristy dedicated five years to the Child Development Center as a site supervisor at Henry Ford Elementary School. 

Education:

• Master’s degree in Educational Administration--University of Massachusetts Global 

• Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies--California State University, East Bay

Kristy transitions to the principalship role at Clifford after former Principal Mr. Jude Noyes moved to the Department of Special Education at the District Office. 

Clifford School: Assistant Principal Catherine (Casey) Nosky

Catherine (Casey) Nosky joins Clifford School and RCSD from a PreK-8 school with the Creighton School District in Phoenix. 

Casey brings three decades of teaching and educational leadership having taught multiple subject areas and grade levels at both the elementary and middle school levels. 

Education:

• Master of Education in Educational Leadership--Northern Arizona University

• Master of Education in Elementary Education--Boston University School of Education

• Bachelor of Arts in History--Kenyon College

Casey will be working together with Kristy as part of the leadership team at Clifford. 

Henry Ford Elementary School: Assistant Principal and Curriculum and Instruction (C&I) Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA) Jennifer (Gemma) Sanchez 

The Henry Ford Mustangs welcome Jennifer Sanchez who will serve students as the school’s Assistant Principal and Curriculum and Instruction (C&I) Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA). 

Jennifer joins RCSD and Henry Ford Elementary School from the Brentwood Union School District where she has been teaching since 2015. However, Redwood City is a coming home, of sorts, for Jennifer as she started her teaching career more than two decades ago at a local Redwood City preschool. 

Education:

• Master of Education in Teaching Leadership--St. Mary’s College 

• Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies--San Francisco State University 

Jennifer has also taught with the San Mateo-Foster City School District as well as in North Carolina. 

Hoover Community School: Assistant Principal Robert Fang

Robert Fang joins Hoover and RCSD from Patterson Elementary School with the Fremont Unified School District where he has been teaching 1st and 4th grades for the last seven years. A teacher for more than two decades, Robert also has both middle school and high school teaching experience. 

Education:

• Master of Science in Educational Leadership--California State University, East Bay

• Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies--California State University, Fresno

Serving students and families at Hoover Community School, Robert Fang joins Hoover’s leadership team led by Principal Lupe Guzmán. 

Kennedy Middle School: Principal Chandra Leonardo 

Starting this school year, Chandra Leonardo will be at the helm of Kennedy Middle School.

She has been assistant principal at Kennedy since 2019-20 after teaching 6th grade language arts for six years. She joined RCSD in 2013-14 from the Ravenswood City School District where she taught technology integration. She also has elementary level experience having taught 2nd grade in San José and Delano. 

Education:

• Master’s degree in Educational Administration--California State University, San Marcos

• Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies--California State University, Fresno

Before starting her teaching career, Chandra served children and families as a social worker. 

Kennedy Middle School: Assistant Principal Jared Bosnich 

Jared Bosnich joins Kennedy and RCSD from the Jefferson Elementary School District where he has dedicated the last decade as an English language arts and English language development (ELD) teacher at Benjamin Franklin Intermediate School. He has also taught at the high school level. 

Education:

• Master’s degree in Educational Administration and Leadership--San Francisco State University

• Bachelor’s degree in Communication and Spanish--San Francisco State University

Fluent in Spanish, Jared earned a Diploma of Achievement in Contemporary Latin American Studies from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. 

Kennedy Middle School: Assistant Principal Beatrice (Bea) Williams

Beatrice (Bea) Williams brings high school level experience to Kennedy from Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) in Atlanta, where she taught mathematics at North Gwinnett High School. 

Education:

• Master’s degree in Education Administration and Supervision--University of Phoenix

• Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education, Mathematics--Baker College 

Bea joins Chandra Leonardo and Jared Bosnich as part of the Kennedy Middle School leadership team. 

McKinley Institute of Technology (MIT): Assistant Principal David Hicks 

An educator who has dedicated his career to technology education joins Principal Susana García Fernández at MIT as the school’s new assistant principal.

David Hicks moves to RCSD from the Ravenswood City School District where he most recently held a similar leadership role. For more than two decades, David has worked as a classroom teacher, technology trainer, technology teacher at the middle school level, coordinator, and Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA), with most of his roles focused on technology education.  

Education:

• Master’s degree in Education, Industrial Technologies--San Francisco State University

• Bachelor’s degree in Sociology--University of California, San Diego

David also has private sector experience as a marketing manager. 

North Star Academy: Principal Dr. Emily O’Neal 

Dr. Emily O’Neal comes to RCSD from the Midwest, moving to California with her family to lead North Star Academy. She most recently served as the principal of Elizabeth Ide Elementary School with the Center Cass School District 66 in Downer's Grove, IL. Emily also has experience with urban school settings having taught in Chicago and Washington, D.C. public schools.

Education:

• Doctorate degree in Educational Leadership--University of St. Francis - Joliet

• Master’s degree in Educational Leadership--Lewis University

• Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education--University of Iowa

Emily is a published author of several education journals focused on researched-based best practices.

North Star Academy: Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA) Jacob Havey 

Jacob Havey, who has taught 4th grade and 6th grade science at North Star for several years, will join Emily O’Neal as a Curriculum and Instruction (C&I) and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA). 

Education:

• Master’s degree in Teaching--Santa Clara University

• Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Teaching--San Francisco State University 

Jacob joined RCSD with elementary grade level teaching experience from the Los Altos and San Francisco Unified school districts. 

Orion Alternative Elementary School: Principal Winnie Wong 

Starting in 2023-24, Winnie Wong will become Orion Alternative’s new principal. She has been with RCSD since the very beginning of the Mandarin Immersion Program as a teacher, later becoming an instructional coach, then moving into administration as the assistant principal before being named principal last spring. 

Education:

• Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction--University of Maryland, College Park

• Bachelor’s degree in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language--Shenzhen University 

Winnie brought to RCSD more than a decade of excellent educational proficiency having taught at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels in Washington, D.C., Delaware, and Texas as well as China. 

Orion Alternative Elementary School: Assistant Principal Brianna Turner 

Brianna Turner, who recently served Orion Alternative as the school’s Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA) will support Winnie as the school’s assistant principal. She will also maintain some of her current MTSS duties. 

Education:

• Master’s degree in Education--University of California, Berkeley 

• Bachelor’s degree in Child Development--San José State University 

Brianna has more than a decade of hands-on experience as an educator at the elementary level. She taught in private and charter schools as well as South San Francisco Unified before joining RCSD. 

Roy Cloud School: Assistant Principal Alicia Hom 

Alicia Hom returns to California at RCSD and Roy Cloud from Oregon where she was an administrator as a Dean of Students at a K-8 school. Alicia joins Principal Melissa Bowdoin as part of the leadership team at Cloud.

Education:

• Master’s degree in Education, Reading--National University

• Bachelor’s degree in Child Development--San José State University 

Alicia brings more than two valuable decades of leadership and teaching experience to RCSD having served with the Cupertino Union,  Morgan Hill, Portola Valley and San José Unified school districts.  

Taft Community School: Principal David Camarena

David Camarena, who taught Spanish for many years, has been appointed as the new principal for Taft Community School. 

Mr. Camarena is very familiar with Taft and its students as he joins the school from Kennedy Middle School, which is the middle school Taft students attend after completing 5th grade. Mr. Camarena worked at Kennedy as an assistant principal for three years after first joining RCSD in 2019-20 splitting his time between Kennedy and Roosevelt. 

Education:

• Master’s degree in School Administration--Notre Dame de Namur University

• Bachelor’s degree in Foreign Languages--New Mexico State University 

Mr. Camarena brings many years of teaching and leadership knowledge having served as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal in the charter, public, and private school settings. 

Taft Community School: Assistant Principal Karina Arellano 

Taft Community School welcomes Karina Arellano into the assistant principal role after serving as the school’s Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA). 

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies--California State University, Long Beach 

An educator for more than a decade, Karina has worked in bilingual classrooms at the elementary and high school levels.

The educators assumed their new roles effective July 1.