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Eric Paulson is set to return to Cupertino High School in July.
Photograph by Skye Dunlap
Paulson set to head CHS
By Michelle Alaimo
Homestead High School principal Eric Paulson is going back to Cupertino High School with a shorter job title.
The one-time CHS vice principal will replace retiring principal Barbara Nunes beginning July 1, making Paulson the fourth principal in the school's 40-year history.
A nationwide search is underway for Paulson's replacement at HHS. Fremont Union High School District superintendent Joe Hamilton said he expects to announce Paulson's replacement by the end of March.
Paulson, who served as CHS vice principal from 1990 to 1995, was transferred to CHS after it was determined that he fit the principal profile. Hamilton said he first determined Paulson would be interested in heading CHS after approaching all the principals within the district about the opening. The job profile, created earlier this month by CHS staff, the school site council, and the Parent Teacher Association, fit Paulson "to a tee," Hamilton said.
Some of the qualities listed on the profile include open-mindedness, flexibility, more staff and parent participation and having a clear vision.
"My basic philosophy is to make sure that every single student at CHS gets the support they need to succeed," Paulson said. He added that he wants students not only to earn their diploma but to learn skills that will aid them in life.
The Sunnyvale native said he would continue all the projects that are currently under way at CHS. This includes keeping tabs on the renovation of CHS over the next seven years and undertaking the tasks involved with the school becoming a digital high school.
He adds that he only left the school in 1995 after being offered the job of principal of Carmel High School in Carmel where he worked until March 1998. He then came back to the district as principal of HHS and has been there ever since. Hamilton said Paulson was hired at HHS to stabilize the school community, which Hamilton said Paulson has done.
In Paulson's short time at HHS, he has also helped to establish a support system for freshman and started a diversity group that helped bring cultural groups together.
Paulson has an extensive local education background. The avid golfer graduated from Sunnyvale High School and Santa Clara University where he earned a bachelor's degree in history and a master's degree in pupil personnel/counseling/psychology. His first teaching job was in 1966 at the very high school from which he graduated. Paulson later worked as a teacher and counselor at Monte Vista High School from 1975 to 1988 and as assistant principal of Homestead High School from 1988 to 1990.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
