Aaron Sanders: 'Students are the reason we're here'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aaron Sanders

Principal

Seaside High School

“Teachers and staff have an unbelievable power to positively influence students and I just want to be a part of that,” says Aaron Sanders, Principal at Seaside High School.

Not only has Aaron been an employee of the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District for more than 20 years, he was also a student attending JC Crumpton Elementary, Marina Vista Elementary Arts Academy, Ord Terrace Elementary, and Los Arboles Middle School, before graduating from Seaside High School. He credits his mother, who was a teacher in the district, for 20 years.

 

“If not for my mom, I wouldn’t have gone into education. That is a special relationship for me and I know how important it was for my teachers for me when growing up,” Aaron says.

 

Currently, Aaron is serving his fifth year as principal at Seaside High School. He was previously an assistant principal at Seaside Middle School, and was a teacher and academic coach for a little over a decade at Monterey High. Coming back to Seaside High School is an honor as that is where he began his teaching career as a math and U.S. history teacher.

The community keeps Aaron motivated.

 

“I am lucky,” he says. “I live several blocks from Seaside High School. It’s a small special community and I have the same sense of family I feel for my own family that I feel for our students here. You truly don’t experience it unless you’re at Seaside.”

The ability to get to know students, have conversations, see their growth, and witness them making better or different choices that open up doors for them for the future is the special part of high school are his favorite parts of being a principal.

 

“You truly do see them make (and take) life altering decisions,” he says.

It was through Aaron that the 'Why I Learn Where I Learn' series highlighting students was born.

 

“Students are the reason that we’re here. If we’re not asking students then we are just asking adults or going on our opinions,” he says. “Students truly do have that answer and are old enough to articulate what they want, what they need and what they are experiencing during the day. I look at this as an extension of customer service. We have to have those authentic conversations with students otherwise we are only accomplishing 50% of our job.”

Inspiring staff comes easily for Aaron.

 

“You have to work on the relationship with other adults and really create transparency. One of my favorite sayings is that the ceiling of staff culture is the ceiling of student culture. If our students can see our staff members having deep conversations, getting along, sharing about their personal life, and really building that strong sense of community then staff can do that with students. It comes back to getting to know people and having real conversations,” he shares.

The future of Seaside High is bright with Aaron at the helm. His short-term goal this year is to continue building a stronger sense of connection and availability for families.

 

“I want families to know it’s okay to engage in school and get to know what Seaside has to offer. For our students, I want to make sure we have as many opportunities and doors open for them as possible. This is their future and we are here to support them through that,” he says.

Aaron attended two years at Monterey Peninsula College before graduating the University of Arizona. He received his credentials from California State University, Monterey Bay. He is married and the father of two young children ages three and four.