Last Monday, Palo Alto High School welcomed a new assistant principal to fill the position left open by Principal Kim Diorio, thus completing Paly’s administrative team for the coming school year.

Victoria Kim arrived at Paly on the morning of Monday, Aug. 26, leaving behind her position as assistant principal at Lincoln High School in San Jose. Though this is only her second week in the district, Kim has already begun to formulate goals for the coming school year and beyond.

“Currently, I look forward to working with the staff on existing programs in athletics and activities, and also on upcoming projects like WASC [Western Association of Schools and Colleges] and the implementation of Common Core Standards,” Kim said.

Kim plans to use her experience at Lincoln High School to help her connect with the Paly community and accomplish her goals.

“Working at Lincoln taught me that despite the diverse backgrounds of our students, teenagers across the board generally want and need the same things from their teachers, coaches, administrators, and support personnel: respect, transparency, trust, structure, compassion, consistency, motivation, and hope,” Kim said.

Kim believes that these ideas will thrive in the Paly environment — and it was this sense of idealism which is what drew her to Palo Alto Unified School District to begin with.

“I chose to come to Paly because it was such an exciting opportunity for me to be a part of an organization that is nationally recognized for its excellence,” Kim said. “One of the most appealing characteristics of Paly is the consistency in which students are always placed at the focus of all stakeholders. It is clearly evident that Paly continues to focus on doing what is best for students.”