Who are you and what do you do in Benicia? I am Carin Garton, and I’m the Principal of . I came to Benicia Unified School District and Joe Henderson (Elementary) in July of 2010 from Phoenix Arizona. I actually was returning to the Bay Area. My husband and I lived here prior to 2005. I’m blessed to be here. I absolutely love it. This is a great school and a really good district.
What made you decide to come to Benicia? I actually didn’t know a whole lot about Benicia. Previously we lived in Clayton and I worked in Walnut Creek, and Benicia was kind of this little town you pass, so I didn’t know lot about it. Since then it’s become this incredible secret gem. We’re the little historic town on the water. (The job) was posted and I met the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent and knew this was a great fit for me.
What’s your biggest challenge as the Principal of Joe Henderson Elementary? The Principal that opened this school still has a great name here. I think she was pretty revolutionary for her time, and made Joe Henderson an incredible school. We have had some changing demographics and student needs over the years. You can kind of see that in the data trends…we have some work to do. We need to make sure we are meeting the needs of all kids. I guess I don’t feel that there’s any challenge that’s too great. Nothing stands out. I think for all of us our challenge is meeting the needs of every kid, from our highest performer to our struggler, so seeking instructional strategies and curriculum and things like that in order to meet the needs of all those kids. I guess that’s the biggest struggle.
What made you want to go into Administration? Well I still consider myself a teacher. I was in the classroom for 9 years, and in the classroom, I felt like I wanted to have a greater impact on change and on schools and on where education was going. And I felt that I could probably have an easier time of it impacting those changes as an administrator than as a teacher. I think now, in hindsight, that teachers have great power to make change and impact and influence on education and on kids. Initially that’s what I went into it for.
What would you like to be able to accomplish in your capacity as Principal of Joe Henderson Elementary? If I had the magic wand, every kid in the school would be proficient or advanced in grade level standards. If I could get that I would die a happy woman. Every kid at grade level would be quite an accomplishment.
