By Chloe Eames
Courier Staff Reporter
She’s been a student, a teaching intern, a teacher, Language Arts department chair, and more at James Logan High School. Now Alicia Elbert has added House 3 principal to her list of accomplishments.
Elbert, a member of the Logan graduating class of 1993, got the promotion this summer, but has known she wanted to be an administrator since about 2009.
She knew she wanted to be a principal “when I started working in the [Institute for Community Leaders], she said. Her experience in the ICL made her realize that she wanted to help change the school system for the benefit of all students, not just the students in her classes. To do that, she needed to become an administrator.
Logan Principal Abhi Brar said he’s happy she’s made the switch. “What could be better than to have one of our own lead our school,” he said.
Although she’s now official a part of the administration team, this is not Elbert’s first stint performing administrative duties. Last year, she filled in for Principal Francis Rojas when he was out for several weeks on paternity leave.
“She did a fantastic job,” said Brar.
Before that, she was Lead Teacher in the ICL, a quasi-administrative position, and a certified Reading Apprenticeship coach, helping teachers throughout the district master the Reading Apprenticeship approach.
A former student, senior Brittany Bautista, said, “ I am very excited for Mrs. Elbert because she was very helpful and was a very good ICL teacher. I am very proud that she is now a principal. I feel that with her being principal she’ll now has the opportunity to work more with students than before.”
Those sentiments were echoed by others interviewed by The Courier.
Asked about how she feels now that she is taking up a much larger role with the school, Elbert said, “Its different, but I enjoy it. I’m enjoying the opportunity to be able to play a larger role in these students lives.”
Elbert said that after teaching for 15 years, she was ‘ready for something new and different’. She said she is excited about seeing the diverse interactions of the school, especially when seeing how her former students have communicated with one another around the school.
She added that she now gets to help more students, compared to being really only able to help her former English students when she was a teacher.
Elbert mentioned that it is a bit harder being the principal of House 3 because now she has to be a bit more flexible with her schedule.
Elbert said that she believes that she is right for the job because she loves the organization of it and the ability to help more the school be more effective and productive.
