Jessica Buckley - Principal
I was born and raised in Denver and am a graduate of DPS. I went to Santa Clara University and then spent a year and a half as a community development volunteer in El Salvador. I then came back to Denver and worked at The Conflict Center teaching conflict resolution and anger management to preschool age students through adults. After that, I taught kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grades (ELA-S) at Harrington Elementary. I was an Administrative Intern for a year with the Ritchie Program at Harrington and was the Assistant Principal at Swansea Elementary for a year and a half. I then came to Valdez as the Assistant Principal with the intent to transition to the Principalship. I am thrilled to be the principal of Valdez and leading one of the most successful schools in Denver.
Emily Plane - Assistant Principal
I am overjoyed to become a part of the Valdez community as a Ritchie Administrative Intern this year! As a teacher passionate about providing high-quality and bilingual education to students, Valdez offers an education program that I truly believe in. I grew up in Tucson, Arizona, and studied Child Psychology and International Studies at Boston College. I learned Spanish working and volunteering in Panama and Nicaragua, and have since remained passionate about the Spanish language and cultural exchange. After teaching Pre-K and Kindergarten, I received my Master’s in Early Childhood Education from the University of Missouri. I have worked for the past year as the Dean of Instruction at Pioneer Charter School, and I have loved working with teachers and coaching classrooms to become the best they can be. I am a lifelong learner, and believe that working at Valdez will further my abilities as a school leader. My hope as Assistant Principal is to contribute my energy, passion, and love for children to help support Valdez as a wonderful place to learn!
Shelley Boberschmidt has completed her year of internship at Valdez with the Ritchie Program for School Leaders. She will miss the Valdez community and is grateful for the opportunity. Mrs. Boberschmidt will be a Teacher Effectiveness Coach at Goldrick and Greenwood next year, and is excited to continue her work supporting teachers and serving students.
