Three new Santa Barbara Unified principals are focusing on improving literacy and making sure students feel safe and a part of their school community.

This year Monroe Elementary school welcomed Kimberly Sheriff Brown, Alex Wilson was promoted to principal at Alta Vista Alternative High School and La Cuesta Continuation High School, and Cleveland Elementary School welcomed Xóchitl Tafoya.

Santa Barbara Junior High, Santa Barbara Community Academy, and Harding University Partnership School also welcomed new principals this year.

Kimberly Sheriff Brown

Sheriff Brown joined Monroe Elementary School in February of this year after the former principal, Brian Naughton, left to pursue a new role. 

Her career in education began in 1994 after graduating UC Santa Barbara. She started teaching a fifth-sixth grade combination class at Washington Elementary School. She then moved to Colorado with her family for a few years before moving back to teach middle school science at a charter school in Camarillo.

It was there when she became interested in taking on an administrative role, and after the pandemic she returned to Washington School as an assistant principal for four years.

“I always try to be the administrator that I needed as a teacher,” Sheriff Brown said.

When Naughton left, Sheriff Brown was asked to come into Monroe as the interim principal; the change was made permanent for the 2026-27 school year.

“It truly felt like it was meant to be,” Sheriff Brown said. “My goal was just to kind of keep the boat afloat through the end of the school year, with the uncertainty of what my future position would be. I hoped, obviously, that it would continue.”

Now Sheriff Brown said she’s focused on building a positive culture on campus, supporting students, and revamping intervention support. 

“Going beyond inclusion to belonging, I think that’s one of my goals: is to continue building on that culture,” Sheriff Brown said.

She’s also focusing on adding more stability for teachers and staff after the school went through some hardships, including one staff member dying of cancer and another staff member losing their son in an accident.

“My goal is to take care of the staff because I know if I take care of the staff, they’ll take care of the students,” Sheriff Brown said. “This school has been through a lot recently, so I think we’re kind of in a healing space right now between staff changes, personal tragedies.”

Alex Wilson

After joining Alta Vista High School and La Cuesta Continuation High School as the assistant principal, Wilson has been promoted this year as the principal, taking over for Carlos Cohen.

Wilson said she was very excited by the opportunity and wanted to provide stability for the alternative education team.

“I know that just strong, consistent admin can have a really big impact on systems and schools,” Wilson said. “That stability makes a really big difference.” 

She grew up in Santa Barbara and didn’t decide to get her teaching credential until after working as a nanny and tutor. 

Wilson’s first year of teaching was seventh-grade math during the pandemic at Santa Barbara Junior High.

“That was kind of a bumpy first year, but really informative and really helped me learn how to pivot and get creative and not just expect things to go through the school year as planned,” Wilson said.

La Cuesta provides credit acceleration for students who may be at risk of not graduating on time, it also offers smaller class sizes, which Wilson said allows for more relationship building. 

“We really get to know students and their stories,” Wilson said.

Alta Vista offers independent study at the North Campus at La Colina Junior High and the Middle College at Santa Barbara City College, with different options to receive in-person support. 

“A lot of our students have experienced a lot of things that have shaped them into the people that they are now,” Wilson said. “Some of them have experienced more in life than I have, and they’re so young and to see their resilience is inspiring, and to hear their stories will change you. I feel privileged to be able to come to work every day and support them.”

This year Wilson’s goal is to support literacy by helping students learn how to break down and understand literature. 

Wilson also wants to establish wellness centers at La Cuesta and Alta Vista’s North Campus. Dos Pueblos High School, Santa Barbara High School, and San Marcos High School all already have their own wellness centers, which Wilson plants to visit for inspiration.

She and staff are also working on surveying students to see what they want in those spaces. 

Wilson also helped to establish the Nest, a wellness space at Santa Barbara Junior High.

“Just seeing the student response of this space where they could go at school, and it’s just calming and supportive, that isn’t academic focused — I’ve seen how much that can change students and their approach to school, and just feeling more comfortable at school,” Wilson said.

Xóchitl Tafoya

This year Xóchitl Tafoya is returning to the neighborhood she grew up in to lead Cleveland Elementary school as its principal, taking over for Gabriel Sandoval who is now the principal at Harding University Partnership School.

She grew up in Santa Barbara’s Eastside and attended a Catholic school before going to Santa Barbara High School. 

Before coming to Cleveland, Tafoya was the assistant principal at La Cumbre Junior High for a year. Before that she was the assistant principal at Franklin Elementary School, but she has been involved in education for 20 years, starting as a credentialed music teacher.

“I take a lot of pride in serving my community, and giving all of our kids, all the Cleveland kids, the opportunity to be really successful,” Tafoya said. 

Having worked at La Cumbre Junior High, Tafoya has seen what students need before making the transition from elementary school to junior high. 

“Social-emotional executive functioning is needed for kids right now,” Tafoya said. “I think that’s just part of society right now, and just how much technology, smartphones are being used.”

Her two goals for the years are to establish strong foundations in reading and math and make sure students feel comfortable in themselves and the school.

Tafoya is also calling this her year of listening and building trust with students, teachers and families to learn what the needs are going forward. 

“Gabe Sandoval was here for 11 years and did really great work and created really great systems and processes,” Tafoya said. “So continuing those and kind of tweak things here and there for this year but really, just listening and building relationships and trust.”

Outside of working in education, Tafoya is a classically trained violist. Part of the viola’s role in an orchestra is to play between the low notes and the high notes, which is how she views her leadership style, playing the supporting notes. 

“I think for me my role in school sites is to be that support and also to listen deeply to make sure those notes are in tune and they shine as best as they can,” Tafoya said.