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Volume 60 Issue 7 ! April 28, 2025 !""Lynbrook High School, 1280 Johnson Ave., San Jose, CA
Photo by Rachel Zlotziver
Principal Maria Jackson retires after 39 years in education BY CHARLOTTE BOLAY AND ETHAN WONG
A
fter working in education for nearly four decades, Principal Maria Jackson will retire at the end of the 2024-25 school year. Her dedication to the betterment of Lynbrook has ensured a bright future for the school, and her impact through education and leadership will be felt on campus for years to come. Jackson started her career in teaching in 1986, where she first taught at Aptos High School in Aptos HillsLarkin Valley, Calif. before transferring to other locations such as Los Angeles and later East San José. She became
an English teacher at Lynbrook in 1994, also serving as the adviser to the Valhalla yearbook team for a year. After teaching at Lynbrook for four years, Jackson took a maternity leave for her youngest daughter. She then came back in 1999 to take on the roles of library media teacher and librarian for a decade, assisting students in searching for information and resources before the prevalence of Google and fast computers. “As a librarian, I always loved helping students find the things they’re looking for,” Jackson said. “We would sit and talk, working together and finding that perfect thing for them, which was really rewarding.”
In 2009, Jackson was promoted to assistant principal at Lynbrook and worked in this capacity until the end of the 2013-14 school year. Throughout this time, she was responsible for building the master schedule for teachers and students every year. “I didn’t just see numbers and boxes when I built a schedule,” Jackson said. “I saw students and teachers. It was always about the people. I always felt really accomplished when I built a schedule so that as many kids as possible got all the classes they wanted.” Story continued on page 4. Page by Vidushi Upadhyay and Eileen Zhu