This article was contributed by the Hollister School District.
The Hollister School District recently appointed two experienced educators to administrative positions at Marguerite Maze Middle School. At the June meeting of the Board of Trustees, Diana Herbst was named principal of Maze Middle School and Emma Veltri was named assistant principal also at Maze Middle School.
The district selected Herbst after two rounds of interviews with site staff and district administrators. She previously served as vice principal at Maze, as well as assistant principal at San Benito High School.
Herbst has been an educator for more than two decades and spent the first ten years of her career as a middle school English teacher. She earned degrees at Indiana University and the University of New Mexico.
“I am so excited to be the Principal of Maze Middle School,” Herbst said. “It is even more exciting that I get to work with an amazing team. As the Principal, I look forward to working with our students, parents, and community members in creating a safe and positive school culture.”
Herbst will prioritize the need to set a clear academic focus at Maze Middle School.
“Academics set the tone for the school,” she said. “At the same time, I will work with our staff to support every student as they prepare for success after middle school.”
Emma Veltri is returning to serve as an assistant principal for Maze Middle School after having her children attend there as students. She previously served as the Hollister School District’s New Teacher Mentor. In that role, she provided professional development, modeled lessons and facilitated individual teacher growth. She will join Anissa Dizon (Assistant Principal) in rounding out the Maze Middle School administrative team.
“I am beyond excited to be a part of the Maze team this year!” Veltri said. “I am looking forward to collaborating with Maze’s amazing staff in creating an atmosphere of high expectations and student engagement. Our Maze students will know that we care about their success at middle school and beyond.”
The Hollister School District expects to see Maze Middle School make substantial improvements in school attendance, student behavior, and academic achievement with this administrative team in place.
“Principal Herbst and her two assistant principals will have the full support of our district administration,” said Superintendent Diego Ochoa. “They have worked with veteran Maze teachers to develop a strong Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) plan for the 2019-2020 school year.”
