Principal’s Message

Hello Patriot Families, 

I am honored to serve as the Principal of Wanda Hirsch Elementary School!

From a very young age, education was my career choice.  I hold a Bachelors in Education from the University of London and a Masters in Educational Administration from National University. I taught briefly in the United Kingdom before traveling to the United States where I taught for 15 years in Rochester, New York.  In 2000, I moved to Tracy where I taught at the Tracy Learning Center for 14 years and become the Director of Primary, the K through 4th section of the school. I joined the staff at Hirsch Elementary in 2014 as a 5th grade teacher. Beginning 2017, I became the Assistant Principal of Hirsch and Poet Christian, splitting my time between both schools. Last year, I became the assistant principal at Monte Vista Middle School. 

I am excited to return to Hirsch.  Our community has always had a strong commitment to excellence. We, the staff, will continue to make this commitment a reality by working together to provide a relationship driven, rigorous learning environment in collaboration with our Hirsch families.  

We are looking forward to getting back to the school site full-time. Our students will have been either distance and/or hybrid learning for over a year – a considerable time in their young lives. Indeed, our new first graders have never been to school and experienced the school culture in a regular year. As we begin the 2021-2022 school year, our return to school will be smooth, comfortable and effective.  We will begin by focusing on relationships, where Hirsch staff will connect to students through modeling positive relationships and creating an environment of empathy and trust. At the same time, we will help students develop a growth mindset to be ready for the challenges that come with learning at a high level. Research tells us that learning in this type of environment leads to increased student achievement. 

I am extremely grateful to be given the opportunity, in my role as principal, to contribute to engaging students in questioning, collaborating and creating. This hands-on connection to their learning will ensure your children grow into responsible, exceptional future leaders. 

Gillian Bradley,  Principal and proud Patriot!