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Schools

New Principals Named for Portola, Harding

Portola is slated to have no vice principal next year due to drop in enrollment.

Two El Cerrito schools, and , will have new principals for the coming school year, but the faces will be familiar ones.

Matthew Burnham, currently vice principal at Portola, will become the middle's school's principal. Because of the school’s dropping enrollment, no vice principal is assigned for next year. Linda Takimoto, a teacher at Portola, will become principal of Harding.

At , Nancy Ivey will join the administrative team as an assistant principal.

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There will be no changes at and schools in El Cerrito or at .

Takimoto began her teaching career in the 1999-2000 school year at Mira Vista Elementary School in East Richmond Heights, just north of El Cerrito, then taught at the now-closed Castro Elementary School in El Cerrito. She has been at Portola for the past three years. She has a master’s in teaching leadership from St. Mary’s College in Moraga and this summer is finishing the Principal Leadership Institute program at UC Berkeley, which combines an administrative credential program and a master’s program. According to its website the program was established to “ prepare leaders for San Francisco Bay Area urban schools.” Takimoto was active in PTA leadership prior to becoming a teacher.

Find out what's happening in El Cerritowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Burnham has been vice principal of Portola for the past three years. Prior to that he worked in the district’s central office for a year and taught at Richmond High School for seven years. He is also a graduate of the Principal Leadership Institute.

The West Contra Costa Unified School District's website lists Ivey currently as assistant principal at Richmond High School.

Portola’s current principal, Denise Van Hook, moves to the same post at Pinole Middle School.  Valerie Garrett, Harding’s current principal, moves to Verde Elementary School in Richmond. Marcos Garcia, currently assistant principal at El Cerrito High, will become principal of Riverside Elementary School in San Pablo. Humphrey Kiuruwi, currently an instructional specialist at El Cerrito High, becomes a district coordinator of educational services.

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