Aragon welcomes new administrators

This school year, Aragon welcomed two assistant principals to its administrative team, Andrew Hartig and David Moore.

Andrew Hartig was an English teacher at Hillsdale High School for 21 years. In that time he was also an English department chair, a student adviser and a union representative. He also worked to implement Hillsdale’s small learning communities and recently began nursing an interest in working as an administrator in the San Mateo Union High School District, leading him to come to Aragon.

“I knew that Aragon was a fantastic school,” Hartig said. “I knew that Ms. Elenz-Martin was here and we’d worked together before … When I asked people if they could see me at a school other than Hillsdale, … they said [it would be] Capuchino and Aragon.”

This year, Hartig’s duties at Aragon include managing behavior and discipline for upperclassmen, Advanced Placement testing and safety drills. He will also oversee Aragon Music Boosters and Pacific Islander Parent Group.

“Our admin team works pretty closely on a lot of different things,” Hartig said. “But Mr. Moore and I do a lot of tag-teaming on things … [For example], he’s working [on] making sure that athletes are eligible [and] they have all their health reports in. My job is making sure they have a place to play.”

Hartig, as a former teacher, values creating personal connections with his students and the Aragon faculty. 

“My decision to move from teaching into administration was about [serving] a school and [its] population,” Hartig said. “It’s not a glorious job; it’s a hard job. But my main interest is in helping all students [and teachers] achieve their goals.”

David Moore was an assistant principal at Burlingame Intermediate School for four years prior to working at Aragon. He also served various roles on administrative teams in the San Mateo Foster City School District and was a teacher at Abbott Middle School.

“I started my career in San Mateo and [working at Aragon is] almost like coming full circle.” Moore said. “High school [is] a setting that I never worked at [before], so I knew it was going to be a challenge, but so far I love it.”

Moore has a broad range of responsibilities this year, including overseeing academic integrity, athletics, attendance and state testing, as well as the Athletic Boosters, English Learner Advisory Committee and Latino Parent Group.

“I’m working mostly with freshmen and sophomores,” Moore said. “[I’m aiming] to give them the skills to move on from [middle school] behaviors. A lot of the issues that arise with [high schoolers is] real-world stuff. It’s the students advocating for themselves [and] wanting to get help for themselves. That’s new [to me and] it’s also a challenge because I’m used to speaking to parents.”

From the first day Moore arrived at Aragon, the school’s community left an impression on him. Now, he seeks to contribute to Aragon’s community.

“If [anyone comes] by my office [they will notice that] I leave [my doors] open,” Moore said. “Students will know that [my office] is a safe place, [and] they can ask me anything.”

Aragon’s small but tight-knit administration aims to start and carry through this school year seamlessly in the face of a constantly changing environment and community.

“We have 1750 students and 130 or 140 staff members, [and] that’s a lot for four people to lead,” said assistant principal Nicole Elenz-Martin. “But we have a really solid working relationship where we care about making sure that we have each other’s backs.”

Elenz-Martin believes that the strength of Aragon’s administration, equally exemplified in both returning and new members, is the priority placed on relationships and community.

“I think that’s why Mr. Hartig and Mr. Moore are very successful,” Elenz-Martin said. “They definitely want to put people, students, connectedness [and] safety first.”

Aragon’s two new assistant principals have contributed their own perspectives, forged through their past experiences, as the school year progresses.