Robyn Harrison joined the Campo administration at the start of the 2023-24 school year, taking on the role as one of the associate principals. She replaced former Associate Principal Ms. Knight, who held the role for three years.
Harrison has worked in education for 20 years: starting at De La Salle High School in Concord, then going to St. Mary’s college in Berkeley, and finally working for a short amount of time at Justin Siena High School in Napa. When asked about her teaching specialty, she said she taught “all levels of english.” Further, she mostly taught within the eleventh grade. “Juniors have always been my little niche…and between American Lit and AP Lang [they] have always been the kids that I look out for…by helping them with their essays…and college applications,” she said.
This experience will help the new associate principal (AP) as she goes about her duties at Campo. She realizes that every student is different and she really wants to get to know all of them for who they are. She said “being in this role takes more effort to try to be able to make those connections with students…but it’s being able to actually have those relationships that makes all the difference.”
Overall, Harrison has enjoyed working at Campo for the short time she has been here. She appreciates the students because of how dedicated they are to school. “[They] want to learn, [they] want to participate and be involved, and [they] want to make this a better place,” she said. Further, the rest of the community has been welcoming to Harrison, which has made her transition even smoother. She said the staff has been incredible and she “couldn’t ask for a better group of people to be working with.”
Students alike have had a positive experience with the recent change in administration. Senior Michael Chu reported that all of his interactions have been positive with Harrison so far and she has already been very helpful, especially to leadership. He said “[he] needed to print a bunch of stuff for freshman orientation and she helped [him] right on the spot.”
Senior Katie Feldman has similar opinions about Harrison. She said “she is very well spoken” and “she seems like she knows what to do and what she wants to change.” These attributes are important for someone in a leadership position at Campo. “She wants to interact with students positively,” said Feldman.
The administration is also fond of the new AP. Stephanie Sliwinski can definitely appreciate how integral Harrison has been to Campo, even in the short time she has been at the school. She said “Ms. Harrison is one of the best acquisitions that Campo has had in years” and “she brings really good balance to the admin office.”
Harrison has already done a number of things to make the staff feel appreciated and prove her value to the administration. “She reminds me that we all have something to offer…and I know that she wants really good things for Campo because she’s already totally invested,” said Sliwinski.
Not only has Harrison started off the year well, but she is also looking forward to the rest of it. “The big thing is just trying to navigate and become part of the community,” she said. It is important for her to become integrated into Campo and she intends to do this as soon as possible. Harrison stated that she’s looking forward to “getting to know the staff as individuals…and getting to know students and seeing [them] at their activities and in [their] classrooms.”
