On July 1, the Aragon community welcomed a new principal, Dr. Michael Jones, as previous principal Valerie Arbizu took a position at Burlingame High School as Assistant Principal for the 2024-2025 school year. Jones has worked in education for the past 30 years, across numerous states and countries, with a diverse range of experiences – most recently working as principal at Lowell High School for two years.
Jones describes his place within the Aragon school community as fate.
“We chose each other,” Jones said. “When I was trying to decide which school I would choose, Aragon is a school that is passionate about students and development, and I am passionate about the same. I also enjoy being in environments that are highly competitive, and the school spirit is pretty good here.”
One of the reasons Jones chose to join Aragon was an alignment of values.
“I like to develop leaders, which is why I came here,” Jones said. “When I was in the interview, I understood that there would be an opportunity for me to help grow the school, build the school spirit and morale and that’s my sweet spot as a leader.”
The compatibility between Jones and Aragon makes sense, given the highly detailed selection process, which involved surveys of the community, outside consultants, and several rounds of interviews with a variety of stakeholders, which includes students, teachers, and admin.
“He’s really brought with him an attitude of listening and hearing from different people,” said Jayson Estassi, social science teacher, PD coordinator and member of the Academic/Instruction Committee that interviewed Jones. “And [he’s] really present with the rest of the administrative team in classrooms … having more connections [with students].”
With his focus on listening, Jones hopes to obtain a well-rounded understanding of Aragon’s community to form future goals.
“I’m doing a 90-day looking, listening and learning journey,” Jones said. “Which is going to lead me to the strategic plan for the school the next three to five years. We have to decide together as a school community, so the parents, students, teachers, staff, district specialists, will have to agree on the way forward, because it’s going to take all of us to reach our goals.”
Some of Jones’s plans for the campus have already been implemented, such as the famous Joy Wagon – a wagon filled with candy and taken around campus on assorted Wednesdays each month.
“The Joy Wagon Wednesdays are amazing for me because it’s a way to instantly connect with the students,” Jones said. “And sometimes I will switch it up and it will be for staff only and not students.”
In addition to new efforts to connect with the community, Jones has successfully integrated himself into many pre-existing Aragon initiatives.
“[We] brought him into the [humanizing Aragon campaign],” Estassi said. “He’s really present with the rest of the administrative team in classrooms … and trying to understand how we can move forward together.”
Outside of his duties as Aragon’s principal, Jones has many other passions he pursues in his free time.
“I do a lot of cycling,” Jones said. “I [also] have a six year old son who keeps me busy, so most of my time is spent playing with Legos, building things … and I like to read, … mainly self-help books, in terms of how to make myself a better leader.”
As Jones transitions into his new role, he has come to appreciate the factors that make Aragon what it is.
“The demographics are unique here,” Jones said. “It’s a very diverse school [and the] San Mateo Union High School District in particular is very rich in resources. The stakeholders, like parents, school community partners, even students, are very involved in leadership roles and impacting decisions that are made.”
Jones will continue to be visible around campus through school and community events, his Joy Wagon Wednesdays and classroom visits.
