GILROY
– The new principal of Antonio Del Buono Elementary School is
settling into her position and looking forward to helping the
school continue its high academic performance.
By Lori Stuenkel
GILROY – The new principal of Antonio Del Buono Elementary School is settling into her position and looking forward to helping the school continue its high academic performance.
Tammy Gabel, hired by Gilroy Unified School District in June, is busy meeting with teachers and staff and keeping parents updated for the start of school next Monday. She credits previous Antonio Del Buono principal Pat Midtgaard and the staff for easing her move to the school.
“Mrs. Midtgaard left things in such wonderful shape that it was easy for me to come in and pick up where she left off,” Gabel said. “The staff is not only hard working, they’re enjoyable as well.”
Effort on the part of the staff and teachers is evident in the continuing academic success of Antonio Del Buono students, Gabel said. They were among the highest performers in GUSD’s 2003 Standardized Testing and Reporting. The number of students achieving the needed score of “proficient” or higher increased by 8 percent over 2002 in the language arts portion of the indicative test and 7 percent in math.
Those scores become more impressive when the school’s growth is factored in, Gabel said.
“When you have a school making big gains, you don’t always see that continue,” she said. “Even with their growth, not only did the scores stay the same, but they increased.”
The teachers’ hard work and GUSD’s focus on teaching to state standards and coordination of instruction throughout the district shows through in Antonio Del Buono’s scores, Gabel said.
“My hope is to keep on going and continue to implement the progress they already have in place and continue the vision of Mrs. Midtgaard and (Superintendent Edwin) Diaz,” she said. “Not to change direction.”
GUSD’s focus on state standards is not much different from the focus of North Monterey County Unified School District, where Gabel worked before coming to GIlroy.
“They both feel that kids have a right to learn,” she said.
Both districts focus on students who have the most need by analyzing data from standardized tests, Gabel said. Studying these test results helps teachers and administrators specialize instruction in particular areas using state standards-based teaching materials.
Teachers at Antonio Del Buono follow the district’s lead in analyzing data to meet the needs of individual students and ensure they are mastering the appropriate skills.
Since her first official day on July 1, Gabel has attended training for new Gilroy administrators and meetings focusing on GUSD goals. She is spending much of this week meeting with teachers and staff about this year’s plans. She also is communicating with parents so everyone can get to know her before the school year begins.
“My focus is on building relationships with teachers, getting to know them,” Gabel said.
Gabel served as director of intervention services at North Monterey County Unified. She oversaw after-school programs serving 3,000 of the district’s most disadvantaged students.
Gabel was also an elementary school principal and teacher for North Monterey County Unified.
