Hello! I am THRILLED to be the principal at Paradise Hills! I love this school community, and am truly grateful and honored to be in this position. I look forward to collaborating with all of you to ensure the BEST outcomes for ALL students.
I believe that the most important thing is to LOVE all kids and make sure they know it. We show this here at school with every child, every day. We work with our students to develop the social/emotional skills that they will utilize to THRIVE in the world, both now and in the future. These social/emotional skills contribute to a positive school climate and culture. Upon this positive foundation we collectively build strong academic skills and positive habits of mind. I am also eager to work with you to continue to provide extracurricular activities for your children. In 2024-25, we offered FREE breakdancing and art classes, thanks to our generous partner Anvil of Hope. We also offered AYSO soccer. In 2025-26, we hope to add Heartlight Dance, and possibly other opportunities.
2025-26 will be my 29th year in education, and my 3rd at Paradise Hills. Beginning in 1996, I taught a 5th grade biliteracy class at Chollas Elementary School for 8 years, then moved to High Tech High in 2008, where I taught a 7th grade Humanities class for 5 years. In 2011, I became the principal at High Tech Middle Media Arts. In 2016, I felt that it was time for a change, and returned to San Diego Unified to be the principal at Golden Hill K-8. In 2021, I became the Area 2 superintendent. And now, I am back to my PASSION of working and having fun with students, staff and families every day at a school site.
We hope to continue to add to the GREAT things going on at the school. Specifically, we look forward to building on the existing successes of our Social/Emotional Learning Program, focusing on foundational literacy skills, working with students and teachers to develop deep conceptual understanding of mathematics concepts, and expanding extracurricular opportunities for students. I am committed to helping ALL students succeed. Please reach out to me with any questions, ideas, concerns, etc. that you may have. Thanks for reading this!
Steve Elizondo