Welcome back to the 2022-2023 school year! As your new principal, I am so excited to serve the Thomas Paine community. I've been in elementary education for about 27 years with the last 15 years here in Garden Grove Unified. Outside of school, I have been married for 16 years and have two adult children. We have a 26 year old daughter in law enforcement and a 21 year old son in the Army.  Some of my hobbies include cooking, baking, and wine tasting.

In the last three years, students, families, and our staff have experienced a number of challenges due to the pandemic. However, we have endured, learned some humility, kindness, and resilience as a result. We are all eager to return to some sense of normalcy. 

This year we will continue to focus on our District's Strategic Plan: Academic Skills + Personal Skills = Lifelong Success! Our academic program is rigorous, engaging, and aligned to state standards. Our amazing teachers use research-based strategies to develop student's critical thinking skills, including the meaningful use of technology in instruction, learning how to collaborate, and helping students develop scholarly habits and motivation. As a staff, we are committed to 21st Century learning to best prepare students for a successful future. In these challenging times, it is also a priority at Paine to support the social emotional well-being of our student and families. This year, additional resources have been allocated to support students with recovering from challenges and trauma. I am happy to welcome the ASPIRE team to Paine. ASPIRE is a system of care for GGUSD students, families, and staff that promotes, supports and enhances the social-emotional wellbeing for all in order to foster a positive learning climate with a focus on mental health.