New principal eager to lead El Centro alternative high schools

EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA) - As summer break officially wraps up and local classrooms prepare to reopen, two El Centro campuses are starting the new school year under a leadership.

Monica Martinez has been named the new principal of Desert Oasis High School and Phoenix Rising High School.

Martinez is a highly familiar face within the Central Union High School District, having dedicated the last 22 years to local schools.

Her professional journey within the district began as an instructional aid, eventually moving up to roles as a classroom teacher, site instructional coach, and most recently, the district's director of instruction and technology.

Reflecting on her multi-decade career path, Martinez credits her professional growth to the continuous learning environment provided by the district.

"As I go back and I take a look, it's all about the continued learning that was very important," Martinez said. "I didn't really come in here with a plan to say I'm gonna do all of this, but it's just those opportunities presented themselves, and I've seen how all of that has helped me to continue exploring different opportunities."

Both Desert Oasis and Phoenix Rising operate as alternative high schools, offering non-traditional students a flexible, personalized path toward earning their high school diplomas. Martinez notes that her deep connection to this specific student demographic was forged during her early days in the classroom.

"I really connected here when I was here as a teacher. I got to know the students, I've seen their potential, and trying to understand how to best support them," she explained. "So I guess that's kind of what led me to say like, 'Yes, I'm gonna move forward with this opportunity.'"

Martinez shares that her educational philosophy is heavily driven by her dual perspective as both an educator and a mother.

When she was teaching, she strove to treat every student with the same standard of advocacy and care she expected for her own child.

"I guess I always saw it of course from the lens of a teacher, but also from the lens of a parent," Martinez said. "And I wanted my daughter to make sure that she had the best that she can get, so I'm like, 'I'm gonna try to be that teacher for whatever reason their parents, or whatever there was something missing there.' As a parent, that's what I want for my daughter and for all kids."

Now occupying the top leadership position at both campuses, Martinez aims to unify her faculty around a shared vision: Combining strong emotional and social support with rigorous academic expectations. She believes alternative education should never mean a compromise on a student's future potential.

"We want to make sure that all our kids see that we care, that we know them, but at the same time keep the expectations high so that they work towards that and they could see their own potential," Martinez emphasized. "That we're here to help them, but at the same time push them to want more and not to see where they're at."

Fortunately, she won't be starting from scratch. Because of her long history in the district, she already shares an established trust with the educators she will now lead.

"I'm familiar with the majority of the staff, so that's definitely going to be helpful, and the staff is great. They’re extremely caring," she said. "They understand the alternative population, and we're here to provide them with opportunities and get them to high school graduation, with the chances of them continuing, whether they're gonna go to college or going into the workforce, but having options available to them moving forward."

Looking ahead to the immediate future, the new principal says her primary objective is supporting her team to ensure every individual student's needs are met.

"I'm excited to work with the students. I'm excited to work with staff. So my role is, of course, to support students, but of course to support staff. We have a lot of services that we provide, so I'm excited to see how that continues to help our students as far as their social-emotional health, but also academically."

Classes for the entire Central Union High School District officially head back into session this Monday.