Leadership award honors devoted trustee 

The award was named in recognition of Trustee Griffin, a devoted trustee who was born, raised, educated and worked in San Mateo. A graduate of San Mateo High School in 1967, Griffin’s connection to the district is “not symbolic,” Booker said. 

“It is lived, sustained and deeply rooted,” Booker said. 

As the first recipient, Shoman exemplifies the essence of the award, Booker said. She is honored for having an unshakable commitment to equity and creating systems that replace barriers with opportunities for the district’s most vulnerable students.

Griffin’s name and legacy in the district has “become synonymous with service, integrity and unwavering commitment to public education,” and perfectly apt for an award to recognize and honor, Booker said. 

A trustee since 1996, Griffin’s legacy spans beyond policies passed and programs launched, but in a general culture of inclusive education, Booker said.

The award will be presented once each semester, and will carry Griffin’s legacy far beyond his tenure as a trustee — however, it will take some time to catch up to his devoted time on the board. 

“Generations of students have benefited and will continue to benefit form your vision, your advocacy and your belief in them, even when they never knew your name,” Booker said. 

As the award’s namesake, Griffin said the recipients are the focus. 

“I’ve been here 30 years, worked with a lot of boards, made my share of mistakes, but it’s about the people we’re going to recognize, and their accomplishments and the things that they have done for this district,” Griffin said. 

The award’s inaugural honoree, Shoman founded a newcomer program and transformed it into a fully fledged accredited high school focused on belonging, safety, justice and hope. 

In 2016, Shoman and a team of educators created the Bridge program for English learners and newcomers, which operated out of Peninsula High School. With Shoman’s guidance, the program expanded and, in May 2024, the program was awarded designation as its own accredited high school. 

The program, and subsequently the high school, was founded upon a Mayan concept of “In Lak’ech” and “tú eres mi otro yo,” which means, “you are my other me,” embodying the idea that we are a reflection of one another. 

The support students are given by staff at Bridge Academy is a direct result of the culture Shoman has cultivated on campus, Griffin said. The other board members agreed. 

“I’d never seen anything like it,” Trustee Jennifer Jacobson said, reflecting on her first visit to Bridge Academy. “The level of focus and devotion and shepherding that students there receive in such a vulnerable and pivotal time in their life is truly life changing and inspirational.”

The goal for educators at Bridge Academy is to “graduate collaborators, communications and navigators,” and to do that, Shoman and her staff “have to be all of those things all of the time,” she said. 

Although Griffin joked that Shoman’s doctorate must be in multitasking, if there is a choice between meeting with a trustee and answering a student’s question, Shoman will “drop that board member” and always choose the student. 

“There is no question of her priorities,” Griffin said. 

Griffin described Shoman as the “embodiment of what public education should be” for her stance and unwavering commitment to equity and justice.

Shoman first worked for the district as a social studies teacher and soccer coach at Hillsdale High School for the 2004-05 school year. She rose through the ranks and now, in addition to her role as principal, she is also the manager of academic support programs for the entire district. 

Shoman’s devotion to San Mateo Union High School District and its students is rooted in a belief that it’s not only possible, but critical, to lead and work through things with love for every student. 

“It’s something I’ve hoped for for myself, and my own children who are now part of this district, that we are seen in our full humanity, especially in a world where some people have accepted our dehumanization,” Shoman said. 

After receiving the award, Shoman shared that she is driven by the Palestinian idea and cultural value of “sumud,” an Arabic word meaning steadfastness. 

The ideology, described by Shoman as “resilience through living” and “cultivating, caring and continuing life as an act of resistance and dignity” is an integral aspect of the Bridge Academy and all the work Shoman does. 

Trustee Ligia Andrade Zúñiga recognized this value, and described Shoman as fearless. 

“I admire you so much, for everything you do for the students, every day, regardless,” she said.