For parents, finding the right school in which your child can flourish is one of the most important decisions you will make. At Point Vicente, our mission is to educate the whole child. Our teachers are extremely well-prepared and have high expectations for all students. Our teachers are energetic, enthusiastic, motivated about teaching and learning and are entirely devoted to making learning available to all students. With our rich programs in academics, the arts (Art at your Fingertips, class plays; General and Instrumental music), and outdoor education (School Gardens and OSS in grade 5) as well as physical education and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), Point Vicente offers to educate all students and enable them to become future citizens that will be able to make thoughtful choices and competitively participate in the workforce and society.
High expectations for all students come to life at Point Vicente classrooms, whether that is in our music classrooms, in Language Arts and Math, Science and Social Studies or during physical and outdoor education.
Now a little bit about myself. I began my journey in education at age 5 by playing teacher with my dolls. Growing up in the Basque Country, in Northern Spain, I always wanted to be a teacher. To this end, I attended university in Bilbao, Spain. During my junior year, I was selected to attend University College Dublin in Ireland. After my year abroad, I returned to Spain to complete my undergraduate studies. Five weeks after obtaining my B.A. in Linguistics and Literature from the University of Deusto, Bilbao, I moved to Los Angeles in order to pursue my Ph.D. in Linguistics at the University of Southern California. At USC, I taught Spanish Language and Literature to undergraduate students while working on my thesis on Language Acquisition. After 5 years of graduate studies and while working on my thesis, I began to work as a kindergarten teacher in a Title I school in Los Angeles where I also served as the school’s Gifted and Talented Coordinator. This position sprung my love for leadership. As a result, began working on my Administrative Credential and eventually, received a Masters in Educational Administration from California State University, Los Angeles. Upon completing my M. Ed. I applied for a coordinatorship at another Title I school in Winnetka. There I worked as a Categorical Program Advisor for a year and a half.
In the fall of 2003, I was selected among 300 applicants to be part of the first cohort of the LEAD (Leadership through Administrator Development) program, part of the Administrative Academy of the Los Angeles Unified School District. This program provided me with a mentoring and job-shadowing opportunity that gave me my first taste of the real world of educational leadership.
In October 2004, I began as Assistant Principal at Fourth Street Elementary in East Los Angeles, a year-round Title I school with over 1,400 students. I then became Assistant Principal at two other low-socioeconomic schools in South Los Angeles, both year-round schools, with over 1,200 students each.
In the summer of 2010, I was selected to be principal at Trinity Elementary in South Los Angeles, where I was Principal for 5 years. While at Trinity, I worked with teachers, staff, and community and in two years, Trinity became the first school in South Los Angeles to come out of Program Improvement School.
In the spring of 2015, my family and I decided to move to the Palos Verdes Peninsula, mainly because of the world-class school district. I began commuting to Trinity in South Los Angeles and realized that I could not tolerate the long drive in traffic. Unexpectedly, in June 2015 there was an opening at Silver Spur, my neighborhood school. I did not think twice before applying. I interviewed for the job and on July 23, 2015, I was approved by the PVPUSD Board of Education to be the new principal at Silver Spur. I served as the proud Principal of Silver Spur Elementary for the past 7 years. During my tenure at Silver Spur, we were nominated and awarded National Blue Ribbon School in 2017 and California Distinguished School in 2020.
In March 2022, I decided it was time for a change and to take on a new challenge, and after learning about Principal Hadley’s retirement, I decided to move to the hidden gem of Palos Verdes: Point Vicente.
I cannot tell you how happy I am to be at Point Vicente Elementary. We have an outstanding group of professionals who are truly dedicated to our children and to teaching and learning. Our parents are vested and involved in our school. We have a phenomenal PTA who is always here to support our children and ensure their success. I am extremely proud to lead Point Vicente to new heights, in academics and in ensuring the socio-emotional well-being of ALL students.
Warmly,
Marta Jevenois-Richardson
Proud Point Vicente PrinciPAL
