Palo Alto School District Announces Departures at Gunn High & Addison Elementary for '14-'15 Year

News from the Palo Alto Unified School District:

The principals from Addison Elementary School and Gunn High School are planning for career changes in the 2014-2015 school year.  

Gunn Principal Katya Villalobos will be stepping into the Principal position at the Palo Alto Adult School, replacing Dr. Kara Rosenberg who is retiring in July.

 Addison Principal Jocelyn Garcia-Thome will be leaving PAUSD in June to explore other career possibilities.   

Both principals started at their respective sites in 2010 and have led important efforts during their tenure in these positions. 

Dr. Skelly commented, "Bringing Ms. Villalobos’ high school-based experience to the Adult School setting will enhance the bridging we currently have between the secondary and post-secondary programs.  

"Her knowledge of the Palo Alto community will allow her to smoothly transition into our great Adult School. Principal Garcia-Thome has enriched Addison through her dedication to students and her innovative thinking when it comes to programs and activities.  I wish both of these strong leaders the best in their new roles.” 

Villalobos joined PAUSD as a social studies teacher at Palo Alto High School in 1995 and taught until 2002 and then served as an Assistant Principal at the school for five years. 

Villalobos became a social studies teacher at Gunn High School in 2008 and taught until 2010 when she became principal at Gunn. 

Garcia-Thome came to PAUSD in 2010 after eight years with IBM where she served as the Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs Regional Manager and three years at Hewlett Packard as the Human Resources and Staffing Manager.

 Prior to her time in industry, Garcia-Thome was principal for eleven years at Lynhaven Elementary School in the Campbell Union School District, Assistant Principal at Monroe Middle School, and a district School Psychologist. 

A hiring process that includes community input will be utilized to identify and hire the new principals at these school sites.