Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) Chief Academic Officer Shawn Bird, Ed.D., has named Angela Elizondo Baxter, as the new principal of Willard Elementary, an International Baccalaureate (IB) School.
“I am thrilled to interact with the bright and wonderful students at Willard,” Baxter said. “I look forward to facilitating effective teaching and learning for the whole child and to help develop the global leaders of tomorrow.”
Prior to her appointment, Baxter was principal of Santa Susana Elementary School in the Simi Valley Unified School District since 2012. As principal at Santa Susana, Baxter oversaw the successful transition to the Common Core state standards and a new goal-oriented academic structure. Previously, she was an English Language Arts/English Language Development Specialist with the Ventura Office of Education from 2005-2012. Before that, she was a Literacy Staff Development Coordinator with the Oxnard Elementary School District and an instructor at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California, Houston Community College and the University of Houston in Texas. She began her career as a fourth grade classroom teacher in Lockhart, Texas.
“Ms. Baxter brings experience as a principal, coach and classroom teacher to Willard and it is my pleasure to welcome her to PUSD to lead Willard,” said Bird.
Baxter earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Texas at Austin, Master’s of Education from Texas State University and is a doctoral candidate in K-12 Leadership from the University of Southern California.