I recently asked Liz Kim one of Mount Diablo School Districts principals a few questions and this is what she had to say:I am an elementary school principal. We are a K-5th grade school with a population of approximately 564 students. We are fortunate to have three special day classes for students with moderate to severe disabilities at Strandwood. As a Special Education teacher by training, I feel so fortunate to be able to be a part of their education as well. I’m also so proud that we have a continuum of special day classes as well. My responsibilities include – everything under the sun! My passion is ensuring that all students receive quality instruction in every classroom on our campus.

I began volunteering for an Association for the Retarded in my home town when I was in college. I had the honor of being hired by them as the director of the preschool they had as soon as I graduated from my credential program at CSUN. I began working at the inception of IDEA – IEPs had just been introduced into the public school system. I have always valued my early experience working with a parent run organization – it was the perfect place for me to begin my career. The families and the people I worked with there were my inspiration to make working with individuals with disabilities my career choice. I went on to teach in the public school system in San Diego, a teacher and Special Education program administrator in San Francisco and now MDUSD as a principal.

My professional goal is to ensure the each child in my school is successful as an individual.

Although it might sound trite – what I love about my job is the students. I have the best job – I am able to play an active role in developing, implementing and evaluating effective instruction as well as interact with students on a daily basis! I even get to teach!

If I could change anything it would be to ensure that our students in California have sufficient funding in our public school systems to provide an effective education for each child.

What do I like to do during my time off? I love spending time with my own grown sons, my sisters and brother, my dogs – being active, socializing with friends and reading!