Spanish Version

Greetings John F. Kennedy Families and Community,

As the newly appointed principal of John F. Kennedy, I extend to you an open invitation to help restore JFK into a place of academic and civic excellence. JFK has a long history of academic achievement and has produced leading citizens that have helped shape the Bay Area. Yes, the school and community face many challenges but through the power of strong leadership, clear and consistent behavioral norms for students and staff, and community engagement, JFK will once again become a beacon of excellence.

Many individuals have asked why I would want to be a leader at JFK. I bring to this community, over 15 years of experience in education as a teacher leader and administrator. I am currently pursuing my doctorate in educational administration at the University of the Pacific in Stockton. My educational background also includes undergraduate and graduate degrees in broadcast communications, interdisciplinary studies in education, and educational administration.
This past school year, JFK and the community faced down several serious threats resulting from a state that finds itself in severe financial crisis. As your principal, I want to ensure that JFK remains open for future generations. However, I need your help to engage our youth and families and hold our students to high academic, civic, and moral standards. We must approach their education from the perspective that failure is not an option.
Joining us in this effort will be my new assistant principal David Luongo, who holds various degrees in English and administration. You may recall that Mr. Luongo taught at JFK from 2000 to 2005. He is very well acquainted with JFK’s special challenges. While teaching at Kennedy, he participated in a “Teacher’s in the Community Program” by living and working in the Monterey Pines Apartments across the street from JFK. After his JFK experience, Mr. Luongo spent a year improving discipline and outreach at Oceana High School in Pacifica, and three years introducing positive changes at Pinole Valley High School as an Assistant Principal. Mr. Luongo is eager to rejoin us back at the “K” and help us achieve our goals.
Mr. Luongo and I are looking forward to a year filled with challenges and success. We welcome your participation in holding courageous conversations around student learning and achievement. We leave you with this quote by Ron Edmonds from A Blueprint for Action III:

“We can whenever and wherever we choose, successfully teach all children whose schooling is of interest to us. We already know more than we need in order to do this. Whatever we do, it must finally depend on how we feel about the fact that we haven’t so far.”

With appreciation and thanks for your support,

Principal Roxanne Brown-Garcia