Happy February! January always feels like both a sprint and a marathon simultaneously. As we catch our collective breaths in February, I wanted to take a moment to reintroduce myself in my new role. After serving this community as assistant principal for the past four and a half years, I am honored to continue this journey as the new principal of Clifton Career Development School.
My leadership style, decisions, and interactions with others are all informed by my own identity and experiences. I am biracial and bicultural. I am a daughter, sister, and proud aunt to two nephews. My father's family is originally from the Midwestern United States; he grew up as the son of a naval officer and then spent three decades in the US State Department Foreign Service, primarily stationed in Asia. My mother's family is proudly Okinawan, tracing their roots to the Ryukyu Kingdom before Japanese control. I was born in Bangkok, Thailand, and then spent my childhood overseas. By the time I started 9th grade, I had lived in five different countries and attended nine different schools. I was fortunate to witness a diverse range of cultures, lifestyles, and ways of thinking, which fostered a love of travel and new experiences that have continued into adulthood.
My adult life began with a degree in psychology from the University of Virginia and a career in social work. I worked on a crisis hotline, at a family shelter, and as a children's case manager. When I moved to Austin, I found a new passion in education. I served as a teaching assistant and special education teacher before getting my masters in Educational Leadership at the University of Texas at Austin. From there, I continued to learn as a principal intern, assistant principal, and now principal. I have supported students ages 3 to 22 across southwest, east, and northeast Austin. I love that my role at Clifton allows me to serve students across all our Austin ISD high schools.
I believe strongly in Clifton's mission to provide purposeful engaging instruction, in a supportive and safe environment, to ensure students are college, career, and life-ready. While high school graduation is a great accomplishment that should be celebrated, it is not the same as life readiness. We owe it to our students to hold high expectations AND also support them in surpassing those expectations and achieving their goals for life after Austin ISD.
My door is open, along with my inbox and phone line. Please reach out with questions, comments, and thoughts about how we can help your student succeed.
With gratitude,
Sachi Edson
512.414.3614, ext 72479