It’s a new school year, and along with it, we have the pleasure to meet our new Assistant Principals.

Mr. Wichman

Mr. Steven Wichman,  born and raised in Tracy aand a West High ‘02 graduate, has worked as a football coach and is now an Assistant Principal. While studying at Delta College and playing for its football team, he was offered a full-ride athletic scholarship from the University of Idaho, allowing him to continue his education and play football. He has been coaching various high school sports since 2008, including basketball, baseball and primarily football. When asked about how he felt about working here, Wichman said, “[He] loves being here and feels very much at home.” He also enjoys working with his colleagues as well as the students. Wichman hopes to “continue to promote positive interactions between everyone that walks this campus and to showcase all the great things that this campus has to offer that I get to see every day.” The goal he has for the future of this school is “to improve what we do.” He accepted this job because he “believes in what we do for students, in the educational process and the future that we as educators or administrators contribute to empowering and giving more students a chance to be successful later on in life.”

Ms. Lee

New to West High, Ms. Annabelle Lee, who previously worked at San Jose and Banta Unified School Districts, had been an assistant principal at George Kelly Elementary School for two years,  and she  has been working in the educational field for a total of twenty years. This is her first year working as an administrator for a high school and so far she loves being here and feels at home. When asked about why she decided to accept this job, Lee said she loves working with kids and feels that she can have a bigger impact on high school students. She also liked the idea of trying something new. Her hopes for the future of this school is to increase the culture and diversity and to possibly create an ethnic class for students.

Ms. Harmsen

Ms. Holly Harmsen, who is also new to West High, is happy to start working for the first time as an assistant principal. She has worked for a total of eighteen years in the educational field. Harmsen previously worked at Hayward Unified School District as a Kindergarten to third grade teacher and was a first-grade teacher at Louis Bohn Elementary School for six years. She loves being here and is happy about having “a great team, a great school and a great community.” Harmsen said she also, “enjoys helping people, problem solving and new challenges.” She decided to accept this job because she likes challenging herself and trying new things. When asked about her hopes for the future of this school, she said she hoped to “build positive relationships between the students and the staff and to prepare them for college and getting a career.”