Dear Editor,
I have been surprised by the large amount of negative publicity
that columnists Doug Meier, Denise Apuzzo and Cynthia Walker have
bestowed on Gilroy High Principal Robert Bravo.
Dear Editor,
I have been surprised by the large amount of negative publicity that columnists Doug Meier, Denise Apuzzo and Cynthia Walker have bestowed on Gilroy High Principal Robert Bravo. It seems that Mr. Bravo has been the recipient of negative press since October 2003. What is more surprising is that even now that school is not in session he is still being attacked and described in a distorted sense. The people that have been describing Mr. Bravo have met him in a professional setting, but I doubt that they know him on a personal basis. I would like to share my view and knowledge of him to show you that he is an excellent person to lead Gilroy High.
I have known Robert Bravo since 1994, my junior year at Gilroy High. He has shown me time and time again that he is a person of character and someone who looks for solutions rather than just a complainer. He was my honors U.S. history teacher that year because we did not have an AP U.S. history course. Mr. Bravo understood that we were at a disadvantage as a school for not offering an AP U.S. history course and, instead of complaining about it, he decided to create a course for us. Right before the end of the first semester he gave us a choice to take the AP test and he worked with us to pass the test. Thirteen students took it (first time in GHS history) and we all passed.
What made this accomplishment even more impressive is that it happened during a year when our teachers were negotiating a contract and had implemented “work to rule.” Work to rule means that teachers would arrive on campus at 7:45am and leave at 3:15pm without doing anything above and beyond. Mr. Bravo held study groups all week for us to prepare. He showed students they were more important to him than any political battle. What more does a parent want from an educator than an unselfish willingness to help their child succeed?
We can learn more about Mr. Bravo from his tenure as principal of Mt. Madonna Continuation High School. He took over in the fall of 2000 and he was responsible for beginning the process of aligning Mt. Madonna to the state standards.
During his two years at Mt. Madonna, he tackled the question of how to get the students to pass the high school exit exam when they were so far behind grade level. He chose to organize his staff and find ways to solve their problems. Mr. Bravo is always looking for ways to assist our Gilroy youth to achieve academically.
In addition to his professional contributions to Gilroy, Mr. Bravo has added to our school community. During his teaching years, he assisted with the Interact Club and coached for a year. As a teacher and now as principal, Mr. Bravo was active in our Faculty Follies to help raise scholarship money.
In his first year as GHS principal, he participated in the California State Hispanic Principals Lip Sync Contest to raise scholarship money for our Latinas Program. He is not afraid to do things that will assist our students and represent our school, again a trait I would like to see in all educators.
I’m not saying that he’s perfect, but he allows his actions to speak to his character. He cares about improving everything he is part of. A problem is that one of Mr. Bravo’s greatest strengths is usually misunderstood as a weakness: his analytical skills. Few people question his ability to analysis, process, and use information especially since he has a BA and MA from UCLA. The issue is that some of us interpret his analytical style as someone who does not take action. That is not the case. To act quickly and thoughtlessly is not a quality that we should encourage.
During his two years as the leader of GHS, Mr. Bravo has focused our staff attention on specific learning tools and they have started to have some impact. You must also keep in mind that he came to GHS at the request of Superintendent Edwin Diaz and who would want to be principal with all the political issues left behind after Wendy Gudalewicz’s departure?
Mr. Bravo has made mistakes, but he is learning and he is still looking for ways to improve GHS. Even though he has been bashed for almost 10 months he is still doing his job at a high level. That is something that I truly admire.
He is an intelligent, analytical, honest, respectful, quiet, thoughtful, cautious, responsible, dependable, motivated, and truthful. He can also motivate others and push students to improve. I am grateful for Mr. Bravo’s motivation because he is the reason that I applied and attended UCLA right after Gilroy High. Mr. Bravo thanks for being such a great role model and friend.
Jose H. Hernandez, Gilroy High teacher
