Muir Elementary School’s new principal enjoys homecoming
There was a buzz in the air at Muir Elementary School and International Spanish Academy less than 24 hours before the first day of classes in the Glendale Unified School District on Aug. 21.
Staff members adorned banners and signs all over campus, while teachers prepared classrooms and administrators walked the halls double-checking everything.
Jessica Zavala, Muir’s new principal, contributed to many efforts that day, floating from classroom to classroom, making sure the school was ready to welcome students.
“Your goal is to get from one room to the next and, in that process, you get stopped 10 times,” Zavala said with a laugh. “That’s just part of your job.”
At one point, Zavala walked to the front of the campus to check on photos being taken. When she tried to return through the school’s double doors, Muir’s top administrator found herself locked out.
“Oops,” Zavala said as school secretary Hilda Ginosian unlocked the entrance.
Though the greeting signs, decorations and hanging school spirit shirts were meant to welcome students back to school, the message behind those gestures could also have easily applied to Zavala.
The alumna of Marshall Elementary, Wilson Middle School and Glendale High is also returning home to the Jewel City, where she began her teaching career.
“It’s been exciting to be back at Glendale, reconnecting with friends and colleagues and getting all the support and encouragement for me to be ready,” she said.
Zavala left Monterey Hills Elementary in South Pasadena this summer after a four-year run as an assistant principal to head back to the school district that helped raise and mold her as a student, parent and teacher.
The move didn’t surprise one former boss.
“I knew it was a matter of time before a district selected her as one of their instructional leaders,” said Laurie Narro, principal at Monterey Hills.
“She has the knowledge, the interpersonal skills and the tenacity to excel in the position,” Narro added.
Zavala, who speaks English and Spanish fluently, also appears a natural fit at the International Spanish Academy.
“I’m very passionate about the dual-immersion program,” she said. “I do believe all our students should be bilingual since it’s an asset when you go out in the workforce.”
While Zavala doesn’t lack for experience as she begins her 16th year in education, she’s big on listening.
“I’m excited to start getting to know my students and my families and to get the ball rolling,” she said. “I want to get to know the culture of this school.”
On opening day, Zavala also welcomed a special dignitary to campus as new district Supt. Vivian Ekchian was greeted by a red carpet and a sea of smiling students.
“To have her visit us is special, and the staff was really excited,” Zavala said.
As for that first day, Zavala said she always faces it with some jitters.
“I do get the butterflies every school year because you don’t know what the new school year is going to entail,” she said. “You always start positive, and you hope that it remains positive throughout the whole school year.”
She added, “That’s my hope this year, too.”
