I am excited to begin my first year as Principal at Redmond Elementary School in the fall of 2009.  I was the Principal at Rose Hill Elementary School for the past 11 years. 

I completed my undergraduate work at Western Washington University and continued with post graduate studies at U.W.  I have a Master’s Degree in Counseling from Seattle University and received my Administrative credentials from Seattle Pacific University. 

My first teaching position was at Central Seattle Community College in their Bilingual Japanese-English Language Learner Program.  I spent a year teaching English in Japan for UNICEF, a private language school, and a Japanese company.  The majority of my time has been spent in elementary education as a teacher, counselor, and principal.  Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to be surrounded by mentors and family who believed in me and provided guidance and support. 

As a Principal I am able to combine the best of all the roles I have had in education.  I have an opportunity to teach and counsel students and to work with colleagues who are passionate about their role in helping children learn.  I work with parents and families who entrust their valuable children to our school.  We work together to create a caring environment for their children’s personal and educational success.  Each day provides a new and exciting challenge, discovery or learning for me. 

Redmond Elementary School has a highly diverse student body with children from many parts of the world.  This is reminiscent of my upbringing and schooling.  My first school was a Japanese pre-school, followed by an English kindergarten at St. Luke’s University in Tokyo.  At age 4 my family moved to California.  I will always remember my first teacher, Ms. Chudnoff, who encouraged and comforted me and acknowledged my academic accomplishments.  At age 6, we returned to Japan where I attended American schools until graduation from high school. 

I strongly believe that each person-- children and adults-- in our school community contributes his or her unique history, beliefs, and character.  School must be a place where children and adults feel welcomed, respected, trusted and supported.  By working together we can build a strong and rich environment for our children. I look forward to working with you all at Redmond Elementary !