After two years at M-A, Administrative Vice Principal Amy Hanson will move to Woodside High School to be an AVP next year.
Prior to moving to M-A as an AVP, Hanson was a Spanish teacher for 18 years in Chicago and Woodside. During her time at M-A, she became a vital staff member through her bonds with students and staff.
Hanson began her journey in education after scoring highly on a Spanish placement test in college and realizing her expertise in the language. She started taking Spanish classes and looked for a way to use it in a job. “I was tutoring little kids in Spanish through a class, and I thought, ‘Oh, maybe I could be a Spanish teacher,’ so I started exploring that,” Hanson said. “One thing led to another, and that’s how I ended up becoming a Spanish teacher.”
Hanson was a Spanish teacher at her former high school in Chicago for 10 years, and then taught at Woodside for eight years after moving to California. “I worked at my old high school, so I am very community-oriented. When I came to California, I knew no one in this entire state. When I got a job at Woodside, I made that my community, and it was a place that became my home,” she said.
In 2021, the District received a grant that supported current teachers interested in becoming administrators. Since her administrator credential from Illinois didn’t transfer to California, Hanson decided to apply. “They paid for us to get our credential, and the goal was for us to become administrators in the District,” she said. “When I was finished with my credentialing program, there was an open position here and I applied, and the rest is history.”
Over the course of two years, the AVP office has faced various changes, but M-A’s three AVPs and three AVP secretaries have created a tight-knit office. “I really enjoyed this year in particular. I enjoyed working with the AVP office, the six of us really work as a team. I’ve really enjoyed building a working environment with them. Building relationships with staff and students has really been the best part of the job,” Hanson said.
In addition to the AVP office, Hanson has also bonded with students across the campus. “I’ve really enjoyed being out and getting to know all the students,” she said. “I love going to classrooms and seeing how the kids are and how they are working and what they are learning.”
As a uniquely diverse school, Hanson has faced the beauties and challenges of it. “Staff and students come from all walks of life. What’s unique is that so many kids are from so many different places, and teachers are from all over. I think that sometimes all of those differences, while awesome, can be challenging to make sure that you find opportunities for every person, making sure there are activities for every different type of student we have,” she explained.
Looking back, Hanson will miss the relationships she formed at M-A. “I’m going to miss the students, I really enjoyed being with all of them. I’ve also made some really great friends here among the staff, so in the same way that the best part of the job was building all of those relationships, the saddest part is leaving them,” she said.
Hanson decided to return to her roots at Woodside to be an AVP. “I just have really strong memories and strong bonds with the community there,” she said. “I think it’s an intangible ‘going home’ feeling. When I saw there was an open position, I applied not knowing what would happen, and when I was offered the job I took it. It had nothing to do with anything about M-A—I really think this is an amazing school and I’ve learned so much here and I respect everyone here—it was really just a personal decision about going back to where I started.”
On her return to Woodside, Hanson is looking forward to bringing her M-A AVP experience. “This has been a really awesome experience and I’ve learned so much about the people that have mentored me here. I think that I will have a lot to offer in terms of new ideas and different ways that we can do things at Woodside, so I’m excited to implement new things,” she said.
“I hope that students look back on interacting with me and feel as though they know I cared about them and that I tried my best to make sure that students were supported academically and emotionally, and that they had a safe place on campus,” Hanson said.
Hanson’s advice to future administrators: “Get to know the kids and the staff, all of the emails can wait until later. The most important part is being out with people at lunch and brunch and getting to know everybody. If you’re visible and people know that you’re listening and you care, I think that makes it so when difficult situations arise, it makes it a lot easier.”
“I think that this is an amazing place, and that if I could make a T-shirt that was half a Bear and half a Wildcat, I would love to have that, because part of my heart will always be here,” Hanson said.
