New Administrative Vice Principal (AVP) Elaine Rivera-Rios’ journey to educational administration was far from traditional. “Truthfully, I never intended to be in education,” she said. “I thought I was going to be a nurse.”
A Bay Area native, Rivera-Rios was born and raised in Redwood City and attended Woodside High School. Upon graduating, she sought to pursue a career in community health, but found herself at a crossroads after facing difficulties in completing nursing school. “I thought, ‘Okay, so this didn’t work out for me. What happens next?’” she said.
Rivera-Rios eventually landed a temporary paraprofessional position assisting students with special needs at Redwood High School. “I realized I liked working with kids,” she said. “They made me feel young.”
I realized I liked working with kids. They made me feel young.
Elaine Rivera-Rios
After finishing her time in that role, Rivera-Rios shifted across the District to M-A, where she worked as a classroom aide. Her quick-witted and easygoing mindset soon brought her to the administrative office, where she became a secretary for Principal Karl Losekoot.
When Rivera-Rios was three years into her role as secretary, the District offered a sponsorship to help staff members who wanted to transition into teaching. Rivera-Rios eagerly applied and was accepted into the program, balancing her duties as secretary while working toward her teaching credentials.
Before she knew it, she found herself back in the classroom—this time not as a classroom aide, but as an English teacher.
Even the journey to becoming an AVP this year was a spontaneous twist in Rivera-Rios’ life. “I was serving on the panel tasked with finding our new administrator,” she explained. “After a third round of interviews, we still hadn’t found the right fit, and I kind of jokingly said, ‘What if I applied for the job?’ And Losekoot immediately encouraged me to apply.”
Having attended a Title I middle school with a large concentration of lower-income youth, Rivera-Rios had seen the impacts of socioeconomic barriers on educational progress up close. In light of this background, a key goal for Rivera-Rios at M-A is to even the playing field for the school’s diverse student population. “I understand that those nuances of their life affect their performance,” she said.
At M-A, Rivera-Rios will oversee transportation, after-school services, and food service. “I am here to support you and learn from you all,” Rivera-Rios said. She is enthusiastic that her new role gives her more freedom to see how students are engaging with a wide variety of topics beyond English and with curriculum outside of her own classroom.
Rivera-Rios balances her enthusiasm for her work with attention to family. She currently has a three-year-old child who she said makes her life “a lot about reptiles.” She also enjoys arts, crafts, and singing in her free time.
While she already knows the M-A community well, having worked at the school for several years, Rivera-Rios understands that taking on this new leadership role will require her to continue learning new perspectives and insights. “I’m the newbie coming in, so I’m just learning a lot,” she said.
