A longtime teacher and administrator will become Christopher
High School’s new assistant principal.
A longtime teacher and administrator will become Christopher High School’s new assistant principal.
Patricia Jolly, 55, will be the school’s assistant principal when it opens this fall. Currently with the Santa Clara County Office of Education as a regional AVID coordinator – overseeing a program to promote college readiness – Jolly comes to the district with more than 20 years of educational experience under her belt. She has taught and administered at both middle and high schools.
She was attracted to CHS because of the warm team of teachers and Principal John Perales’ leadership, she said.
“What I’m excited for is to work with such a collaborative staff,” Jolly said after she was officially appointed at Thursday evening’s board meeting.
Her husband joined her at the meeting for moral support. The couple lives in Morgan Hill and does not have children, she said.
Jolly was impressed with the district’s interview process and how the interview panel was comprised of many different types of community members including parents and students. Although Jolly had previously met Perales through AVID – which stands for Advanced Through Individual Determination and is geared toward preparing students for college – she learned more about him through the other CHS teachers.
“He’s so genuine,” she said, citing an example of how he invited his staff over for Thanksgiving dinner if they couldn’t make it home for the holiday.
Jolly said she liked the attitude at CHS that revolves around “accelerating students, not remediating them.”
“Everyone hired here puts the kids first,” she said. “That was the deciding factor.”
