With more than 20 teachers on hand and 500 families to serve,
Ercilia Zavala is having a successful first week of school as
principal of Aromas School.
”
My goal was to have all the children in class no later than 9
a.m. (on the first day) and we did it,
”
she said.
”
I wanted things to get started right away.
”
With more than 20 teachers on hand and 500 families to serve, Ercilia Zavala is having a successful first week of school as principal of Aromas School.
“My goal was to have all the children in class no later than 9 a.m. (on the first day) and we did it,” she said. “I wanted things to get started right away.”
And things have started right away. Zavala, 32, was hard at work July 1, before she was technically approved by the Aromas-San Juan Unified School District’s Board of Trustees on July 2.
She has jumped into a time when budget cuts are hitting schools across the state and when the community has been divided by the past. The tensions are sometimes obvious, but the challenge did not make Zavala shy away from the opportunity.
“The community is going through a lot. I felt that they needed someone who would be able to know the community,” Zavala said. “This community has been split by decisions. Everyone had something in mind as to what is best for the children.
“If there’s one unifying point, it’s that we’re all here to do what’s best for the children. … As far as morale goes, I think the teachers and staff are ready to move on.”
Zavala is also reading a book, “Managing Transitions,” and hopes to start a transition committee to help the school move from one year to the next, she said.
“It’ll help the administration move the school forward,” she said.
ASJUSD Superintendent Jackie Munoz said Zavala shows depth in thinking and problem solving. She said Zavala would have no problem building trust and connections on campus.
“With her people skills and educational background and her sixth sense about how to lead, she’s going to be a good principal,” Munoz said. “Teamwork and working together at all levels are very important to her.”
While Zavala continues to rebuild trust and relationships, children flocked to the kindergarten through eighth grade school this week. As of Wednesday, there were 495 students enrolled at Aromas School.
One transition families were making was the later start time. Last year’s start time of 8 a.m. has been moved to 8:25 a.m. There were still parents dropping off children at 7:30 a.m., something that presented a safety issue, Zavala said.
She’s working on notifying parents students cannot be dropped off before 7:45 a.m., when there are adults on hand to supervise.
To make the first week smooth, Aromas School mailed schedules to parents before school started, a first for the school. Zavala said the notices helped ease the number of families lined up in the office Monday.
As part of being a new person on campus, Zavala visited each classroom the first day.
“I wanted to go and introduce myself and set the tone for all students,” she said. “I wanted to make sure they all felt safe and I wanted to personally explain the rules to them before I will give them a consequence.
“The one word that I wanted everyone to remember was respect – whether it’s their teachers, fellow students, school property or themselves.”
While working at a school with nine grades can produce a busy schedule, Zavala likes the atmosphere. Her previous experience is with K-5 schools.
“It’s good in many ways. You can articulate better than a K-5 and a middle school can because we’re at the same site,” she said. “The curriculum can be aligned in-house.”
Also, students don’t have to worry about the transition from an elementary to middle school, she said. A K-8 school allows for more parent volunteers who are not split between two or more schools.
With the first week of school coming to a close, Zavala does ask for something from parents: Patience.
“I ask that parents be patient while Aromas School transitions to a new year,” she said. “We’re trying to provide the best educational experience we possibly can. It’s going to take some time to recover. The school needs their support to do this.”
