New Analy administrators on board for 2023-2024
Chuck Wade from Sonoma County Office of Education is Analy's new principal
After losing Analy’s administrative team at the end of the last school year, Superintendent Chris Meredith has hired three new leaders this summer for 2023-2024. Chuck Wade was named the new principal, and Giana De Persiis Vona and Patricia (Trish) Delzell were brought on as new vice principals. Their one-year contracts were agreed to at the end of May and approved by the WSCUHSD board at the June 7th meeting.
The three new administrators bring expertise in college and career readiness, organizational change and leadership, social-emotional learning, and community building.
Chuck Wade joins Analy High School after serving ten years as an administrator at the Sonoma County Office of Education, most recently on the College and Career Readiness team.
Chuck has formal training and experience in organizational-change best practices, including transformational coaching, restorative practices, and designing and facilitating networked improvement communities. As a high school teacher for 13 years, Chuck helped develop and lead a small learning community offering an integrated curriculum organized around student-run businesses. Wade is “committed to eliminating the predictability - by race, class, gender, or other demographic factors - of students’ post-secondary success.”
As a high school classroom teacher for 13 years, Chuck helped to develop and lead a small learning community offering integrated curriculum organized around student-run businesses, including a screen printing shop and a barbecue sauce company. He thinks school should be interesting.
He has his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Anthropology from UC Berkeley.
Contacted via email, Wade said: “I’m super excited to work with the talented Analy staff—and the entire West County community—to help discover and cultivate the gifts and interests of the young people of West Sonoma County. There are so many incredible things happening at Analy. I’m eager to help scale those bright spots so that even more students benefit and get what they need to take advantage of their best possible opportunities.”
Gianna De Persiis Vona looks forward to bringing her experience in social-emotional learning modalities, school councils, and mindfulness education into her role as a vice principal.
She has worked in the West Sonoma County Union High School District for 22 years, most recently at Laguna High School as an English and Creative Writing teacher focused on family-school connections. Gianna has a MA in Creative Writing and Consciousness and Educational Leadership. Gianna aims to create a school culture that makes people feel valued and recognized through whole systems thinking and development. In addition, Gianna served Laguna as a .20 Teacher on Special Assignment supporting principal Greg Alexander in the overall leadership of the school.
During her many years at Laguna High School, Gianna has developed curriculum, worked with staff to improve programming, and most recently, focused on family school connections. In her capacity as a classroom instructor, Gianna developed the school Creative Writing program, and worked with students to create the school Literary Magazine which has touched hundreds of readers over the years. (See her article in Sebastopol Times on last year’s literary magazine - Intrusive Thoughts.) Last year, she created a Postcards Home project, and continued to develop Laguna’s Council program for students and families. As a Certified Laughing Yoga Leader, Gianna believes in bringing laughter into the room whenever possible and is grateful for the immeasurable joy that working with the students and families in the West Sonoma County Union High School District has brought to her life.
Trish Delzell believes building connectedness is the best way to support student growth and well-being. She has an open door, open mind, and active listening policy as an administrator.
As an assistant principal at Comstock Middle School, Delzell administered the collection, dissemination, and analysis of data related to student learning, including the YouthTruth Survey. As the Department Chair of Special Education at Piner High School, she moved from 30% to 90% improvement of state and federal compliance within special education.
Building trust and a shared sense of purpose among students, faculty and administration is a priority for her.
The first day of new school year is August 16, just over a month away.