Starting the Year with Sunada
After Associate Principal Michael Wanmer left Peninsula High School at the end of last school year, Christina Sunada was hired by the Palos Verdes Peninsula School District (PVPUSD) as the new Associate Principal. She was originally assigned to manage attendance, discipline, athletics and facilities for Peninsula, but with the district-wide switch to online school, there has been confusion over what Sunada’s role at Peninsula would ultimately be and where she would be needed most.
Within two weeks of being hired as Associate Principal, Sunada was asked to take on the role of Distance Learning Academy (DLA) principal. This role placed her in charge of the fully online program that PVPUSD is offering alongside the hybrid model for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Sunada was then asked to be the DLA coordinator for only middle school instead, which would have required her to organize and execute the plan for the students who had chosen to learn completely online in grades six through eight. Additionally, the school district asked her to coordinate the Independent Study Program for students in kindergarten through fifth grade, which is different from DLA because students must learn on their own without seeing their teachers every day. After Sunada organized registration and textbook pickup for Peninsula, the district finally decided she would return to the role she had originally been offered as Associate Principal of Peninsula.
“For the last month, I have been here at Peninsula as the Associate Principal for Technology, Athletics, Facilities and Attendance,” Sunada said. “I was asked to do a lot of different things and I was excited to try them, but it is nice to know that this is my [official position] and where I will stay.”
Before working at Peninsula, Sunada worked at Ridgecrest Intermediate School for two years and at Palos Verdes High School for five years as a counselor. She also had experience as the Associate Principal for PVPUSD’s high school summer program, which Sunada has been undertaking for the past four years. Although Sunada knows Peninsula and the school district very well, online school still presents challenges.
“The biggest difficulty I have faced is communicating with students,” Sunada said. “Normally, I could just call kids out of class and talk to them [to help them with whatever they are having issues with]. Right now I am trying to email the students or chat with them on Microsoft Teams, but being off campus makes it easier for them to miss my messages and harder for me to get in touch with them.”
In spite of these new obstacles, Sunada is still bringing about positive change at Peninsula. Her prior experience as a counselor and a summer school organizer proves she can help students and faculty alike.
“I enjoy trying to create processes and procedures to help students as much as possible and create the most change,” Sunada said. “Moreover, my background as a counselor helps me see the bigger picture with students and how I can specifically help them. I have learned to look at not only their grades, but also their attendance and trends that I see over time so we can address any problems before they become bigger.”
Sunada’s sudden transfer was surprising news to students, but many are ready to welcome her to the school. Among them, sophomore Daniel Kim is certain of the positive changes she will bring to Peninsula.
“It is disappointing that Wanmer is no longer at Peninsula,” Kim said. “However, I am excited about the addition of Sunada, and I am sure that she will help to better Peninsula as a whole.”
Associate Principal Jennifer Panagos is also excited to have Sunada on Peninsula’s administrative team. Since Sunada has been employed within PVPUSD over the last few years, they have worked together before, and Panagos is confident in Sunada’s abilities.
“Having been in the district before has really helped [Sunada] hit the ground running in her new role at a time when we really need someone to do just that,” Panagos said. “She knows who we are and what our goals are as a school. She is very kind and hardworking and has done an amazing job so far.”
