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Published on 05/12/1999 All articles from this issue

By Linda Taaffe

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Town Crier Staff Writer

The Los Altos School District Board of Trustees named Patricia Boettcher as the new principal at Bullis-Purissima School in Los Altos Hills April 19.

Boettcher will replace Joan Pierce, who has been serving as interim principal since George Manthey unexpectedly resigned last October to lead the Northern California Principal Leadership Center in San Francisco.

Boettcher is finishing her fourth year as principal of La Entrada School in the Los Lomitas School District in Atherton. She has also served as principal and teacher in San Juan Capistrano.

Colleagues describe Boettcher as a compassionate listener and a decisive leader.

Superintendent Marge Gratiot said Boettcher was the district's first choice of the seven interviewed candidates.

Gratiot said Boettcher believes strongly in working with parents and teachers.

"We are extremely fortunate to have this talented and experienced administrator join our district," Gratiot said. "What stood out was her energy and intelligence and positive attitude toward how to solve problems."

Gratiot said the district postponed hiring a permanent principal until spring -generally a time when there's a larger pool of qualified applicants.

Boettcher will join the district July 1.

Longtime teacher retires from Parent Observation class

Longtime teacher Joan Somers will retire from the Mountain View-Los Altos Adult School's Parent Observation course at the end of this school year.

A program teacher for the past 21 years, Somers has welcomed more than 1,400 parents and children to her class.

"It has always been extremely rewarding, stimulating, and precious," Somers said about teaching the program, which brings parents and their 2- and 3-year- olds together in the classroom. "It was hard to give it up. I love teaching it so much, but I felt I wanted to do some different things in my life."

Somers is a former sixth-grade and kindergarten teacher at Bubb School. She enrolled in the Parent Observation course as a parent with her own two children. Somers became a teacher's aide at the school and participated in the Mountain View Parent Nursery School as a parent. She accepted her current teaching position in 1978.

While at the school, Somers helped expand the program from a few classes per week to as many as 10 classes per week. She also added the 3-year-olds program, which brings parents and their children together in the classroom to work on projects. The class also includes a parenting session, where parents may share parenting tips.

"No matter how much I gave to the program, I got back 10 fold," Somers said.

The public is invited to attend a celebration for Somers at 12:30 p.m, May 18 at Grant Park.

Homestead team captures state leadership title

For the first time in its history, the Homestead High School Future Business Leaders of America team captured first place at the California State Championship April 24, in Sacramento, where 105 California schools competed.

The Homestead team earned 111 points. The second-place team earned 78 points.

Team members could earn both individual points and points for their school. Of the 36 students from the Fremont Union High School District who qualified for the National Championships in Chicago this June, 20 are from Homestead.

The Homestead team includes: Vickie Chiang, Connie Young, Lee Pang, Jennifer Yen, Aileen Chan, Steve Chae, Rahul Mehta, Lan Nguyen, Johnathan Chong, Michael Lew, Marni Landes, Angel Chao, Michael Chen, Patricia Liu, Sam Lee, Tasha Mathru, Garrett Kuramoto, Kristina Trinh, Grace Park and Liz Wright.

IN BRIEF: The Student Transition Advocacy Reaching Success program and the ROP Transitions program - two special education programs in the Fremont Union High School District - were recently honored at the state level. Both programs involve transition-to-work services for special education students. Fifth-graders at Almond School dressed in traditional colonial garb and spent the day making cornhusk dolls, candle lanterns and Johnny cakes recently as part of the school's annual Colonial Day celebration April 8.