Bay Area
West Oakland Middle School
Mentor Principal: Ron Smith

“New Leaders affords me a network of support that would otherwise take me years to build.”

During her Residency Year, Brandi serves as an Assistant Principal at West Oakland Middle School under the mentorship of Principal Ron Smith. Prior to joining New Leaders, Brandi was a Math Specialist in OUSD, providing direct support to site administrators to further student math growth through increased teacher productivity. She also served as a math teacher, Instructional Coach, and Department Chair in LAUSD.

Brandi says that she initially entered education “without passion” – a young woman who needed a job. Once she began teaching, however, she became an eager learner, honing her teaching craft to better serve her students “because my students represented me and there was no option for less than stellar success.” In her final year in the classroom, Brandi taught a complete second-language Algebra 1 course comprised entirely of students who spoke only Spanish. By upholding a culture of high expectations, working with parents, and using data to drive instruction, she was able to produce impressive results. Her class scored at 75% proficiency on district assessments: higher than any ELL class on campus.

Brandi says that she discovered her passion in education was to get behind a cause: social justice. She aims to become an advocate for her community, using the school as a lever for change. As a school leader, she has the opportunity to drive results for more students, while also aligning staff, teachers, parents, and partners with her mission.

So far in her Residency experience, Brandi has tried to use every opportunity to reflect on her own practice, and is feeling very supported by her mentor principal and Leadership Coach.