Even though I was a Washington School parent, I would occasionally run across Paula Valerio at school events like BCE fund raisers and the like.  She also had a fine appreciation for the historic aspects of schooling in our historic town.  This Daily Journal piece discussing Paula's retirement is a nice read about a nice lady–even if she does consider herself a bulldog.

When she arrived at McKinley Elementary School, it was one the district’s smallest and served only 260 students. In the past dozen years, the school’s enrollment has floated over 500 and the Spanish immersion program has 240 students.

As enrollment increased, so did the depth of the immersion program’s curriculum, said Valerio and the result is a master plan that “continues to be an example to school districts that are thinking about developing an immersion program.”

Superintendent Maggie MacIsaac expressed her appreciation for Valerio’s contribution to the district.

“Paula embodied the spirit at McKinley School; fun loving and honoring rich traditions,” she said in an email. “She was the principal that started the Spanish dual immersion program in Burlingame and she was a champion for the program.”

Happy retirement, Paula!