Mt. Washington Has a New Principal

By Lola H., Isabella R., Sydney A., and Evelyn S.

Everyone is counting the days until school starts next week.  Everyone in Mt. Washington wants to know who the new school principal is. On Tuesday, Aug. 6, four junior journalists decided to find out. 

We sat in the Mount Washington Elementary School Parents Center with the new principal, Ms. Georgina Gravino. She was friendly and social. “I’ve always wanted to work with children,” she said when asked if she had ever wanted to be anything besides a principal. “When I got the opportunity [to be a teacher], I was so happy.” Ms. Gravino also likes working with teachers.  “Being a principal not only lets me work with children but lets me support teachers too,” she said.    

Happy to meet some of her students in her new school, Ms. Gravino shared some interesting facts about herself.  When asked about her favorite color, she shared with us that it was yellow.  She finds it “happy”—just like her. Her favorite animal is the chimpanzee. She has a dog named Buddy and has two sons. Born in Los Angeles, Ms. Gravino is Mexican American and one of her favorite hobbies is to read. She likes reading books on education, but she likes fiction, too. She just finished reading Maya’s Journal by Isabella Allende. 

Ms. Gravino’s previous school, Alexandria Elementary, was much bigger than Mt. Washington Elementary. There were three buildings spread apart. In Mt. Washington, everything is close, she observed. “I like how children are involved in gardening,” she said when asked about the Mt. Washington school garden. “It’s very important how children learn in the garden setting.”

When asked if she was going to change anything about the rules at school, Ms. Gravino said she would see how things are running and if they aren’t going good, she would make some changes. She would like to improve on math and writing. She finds writing to be important; not just the writing, but how kids express themselves. 

Letters just came out telling families which teacher students would have. When asked if she had any words of wisdom for the students who might be nervous about the school year, Ms. Gravino said: “Go into the classroom with an open mind. Go into this classroom knowing that you’re going to learn a lot and have a lot of fun. It may be different but different is good.” 

Good advice for all.  

Lola H., Isabella R., Sydney A., and Evelyn S, aged 8 to 10 years old, are enrolled in the Radical Radishes Children's Writing Camp in Mount Washington run by Nina Zippay, an at-large representative of the Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council.