Aspire East Palo Alto Charter School

Dear EPACS Students and Families,

My name is Terry Kawi, and I am excited to serve the EPACS community as the new school Principal. I have been a part of the wider Aspire network since 2018 when I joined as a middle school ELA teacher at Aspire ERES Academy. After ERES closed in 2021, I transitioned to Aspire Berkley Maynard Academy where I taught 7th grade ELA and ultimately decided to take a break from the classroom after nearly 10 years teaching middle school. This past year, I served on the Bay Area Regional Team as our region’s Secondary Humanities Program Manager. Over the last five years in these different roles, I have gained experience, knowledge, perspective, and sharpened my skills as an instructional leader, transformational coach, and culturally responsive practitioner. I am excited to be able to serve EPACS in this capacity and feel fortunate to be able to bring my skills, criticality, and commitment to antiracism and equity to EPACS. In addition, I feel fortunate to be able to work with and alongside as well as learn from all of my new teammates. Lastly, I am looking forward to meeting you all. I know that the EPACS team is hopeful that we will be able to strengthen our partnerships with families in the coming school year, and I am confident that family engagement and presence will only increase from here.

Thank you,

Ms. Kawi