Two Principals Hired For Bullis Charter School

Provided by Charles Morgan, Bullis Charter School

With enrollment demand increasing, Bullis Charter School has hired Jocelyn Lee and Alison Schwartzbaum as Principal and Assistant Principal, respectively, to assist with campus leadership and innovation. 

They begin their positions immediately in preparation for the 2013-2014 academic year, which is expected to bring more than 600 students to the school.

“After a nationwide search and screening over 180 highly qualified applicants, I am extremely excited to welcome two outstanding administrators to the BCS community,” said Wanny Hersey, Superintendent/Principal at Bullis Charter School.  

“Both Ms. Lee and Ms. Schwartzbaum bring a combined wealth of past experience that demonstrate their commitment to educating the whole child, in complete alignment with the BCS vision.  

Their unique skills and talents will also be of great benefit as BCS continues to innovate into the future.”

Lee, joining as principal, has nearly 20 years experience as an educator, most recently as an elementary and middle school Principal in the Ravenswood City School District, which draws students from East Palo Alto and Menlo Park. While there, Lee worked on expanding enrichment activities, building partnerships with community-based organizations, implementing service learning programs, and expanding technology use among students and teachers. 

Lee secured 30 laptops for every classroom and spearheaded staff training on technology integration in order to increase student engagement and outcomes.

Lee’s extensive administrative experience with the implementation of a full inclusion model for educating special education students has led her to restructure school systems in order to better meet the needs of every student.

Prior to Ravenswood City School District, Lee worked in the Fremont Unified School District, the Sunnyvale School District, Santa Clara Unified School District and the Sequoia Union High School District. 

Throughout her tenures at those districts, she has made science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) a focus, from initiating partnerships with organizations such as Juniper Networks, to facilitating student study trips to high tech companies and founding GAINS (Girls Achieving In Non-Traditional Subjects) to encourage girls to pursue careers in STEM fields, a program that continues to thrive and grow to this day in SCUSD.

Lee earned her undergraduate degree from Stanford University, and her master’s from the Stanford Teacher Education Program. She was also an Educator in Residence at the Stanford School Redesign Network (SRN) and has trained educators all over the county and state including providing professional development for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Schwartzbaum, joining as Assistant Principal, comes to BCS from Boston, after serving as the Principal Intern at The Curley K-8 School. While at Curley, Schwartzbaum was responsible for designing professional development systems and building stronger family and community partnerships for the school. 

Previously, she taught at Miami Country Day School, where she created a humanities curriculum that offers a more diverse selection of interdisciplinary courses, promoting individual students’ success through differentiated instruction. As an English teacher at the North Miami Middle School, Schwartzbaum helped develop and implement a district-wide writing plan. 

She holds a bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University, where she led an effort to create the University’s first Education major, and a master’s from the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s School Leadership Program.
 
“The programs Lee and Schwartzbaum have championed in prior positions are aligned with what BCS embraces -- innovating curricula that integrates the use of new technologies, and STEM education with a focus on 21st century skills and student outcomes,” Hersey said. 

“These instructional leaders will greatly complement BCS’s commitment to developing every student and teacher’s full potential, and creating local ties to partner with the community in education.”

Ken Moore, BCS Board Chair adds, "I welcome these two dynamic leaders on behalf of the entire BCS community. Wanny Hersey has designed and developed our nationally recognized program and demonstrated what's possible in public education.  

"The addition of Jocelyn's and Alison's tremendous experience and expertise to the already strong BCS leadership team enhances our ability to focus on every detail of delivering a 21st century public education."