Meet Alameda's 2 New Principals

ALAMEDA, CA — Two Alameda public schools will have new principals this fall. The school board has approved the appointments of new principals for Encinal Jr. & Sr. High School and Lincoln Middle School.

The new principal for Encinal will be Doreen Bracamontes. The new principal for Lincoln Middle School will be Sheila Vijay SatheWarner.

Both candidates were carefully vetted via a virtual process that included advertising for the positions, interviews with cabinet members, extensive reference checks, and discussions with the superintendent.

However, because of the coronavirus pandemic and shelter-in-place requirements, stakeholder engagement and in-person interviews that are typical of the principal selection process were not possible.

“While this isn’t the typical process we would use to select a site leader, I believe we found very qualified candidates with deep and sincere interests in supporting their school communities,” says Superintendent Pasquale Scuderi. “In fact, both of these candidates would have topped the field in ordinary circumstances. Given the very extraordinary circumstances in which we find ourselves, securing a talented and committed school leaders warranted a more expedient path to hiring. I very much look forward to introducing these two talented women to their new school communities and working with them on their school programs over the coming months.”

Here are the new principal bios from the district —

Doreen Bracamontes

Bracamontes is a nationally board-certified teacher and a long-time educator in the Bay Area. She has served as vice principal at Longfellow Middle School in Berkeley, interim vice principal at Malcolm X Elementary School, vice principal at Berkeley High School, and prior to that as a vice principal at John Muir Middle School in San Leandro.

She received her Master’s in Education from UC Berkeley and BA degrees in both Sociology and English Literature from UC Irvine.

“I am so looking forward to joining a community of students and staff that has a rich history and ambition to grow programs that work for all students,” Bracamontes says. “There is nothing more rewarding as a school leader than helping staff teams collaborate to achieve our goals for students. They are the reason that we all show up. I have to admit, I’m also delighted to return to high school without having to give up heart-warming middle school students. I’m ready to SOAR with all my Jets!”

Sheila Vijay SatheWarner

For the last five years, SatheWarner has served as a teacher on special assignment for AUSD. In that role, she both coached teachers and designed and led professional development around Universal Design for Learning and Integrated English Language Development. Prior to that she was the director of Alternatives in Action, a local charter school, where she coordinated an innovative restorative justice program, as well as youth action projects such as the “Project Youth View” film festival. She is part of the Core Coaching Network at the Alameda County Office of Education and this March was named a Mills Teacher Scholar.

SatheWarner received her first Master’s in Education (Teaching & Curriculum) from Harvard University and her second (in Instructional Leadership) from the Reach Institute in Oakland.

“I deeply believe in the power of people to do great things when we work together,” SatheWarner says. “I am excited to be an advocate for students, teachers, staff and families and to guide the school through this challenging time. I believe that out of adversity can come amazing new growth and opportunities, and I look forward to supporting the LMS community through my work in this role.”