At its Feb. 17 public meeting, the Board of Education appointed Kirstin Snyder, the current interim principal at Encinal Junior & Senior High School (EHS), as permanent principal.

Snyder was named EHS’ interim principal in September 2021 after former principal Doreen Bracamonte resigned. Prior to that she held the position of Dean of Students at the school.

“Encinal feels like a place where I can plant my roots and grow something meaningful for students, families, and staff,” said Snyder. “I look forward to partnering with the community as we look toward all of the possibilities for this amazing school.”

Before coming to EHS, Snyder served in several leadership positions for the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD). She worked as the Response to Intervention (RTI) Coordinator, coordinator of the Teacher Induction Program, trainer in the Restorative Justice Program, and a site supervisor for BUSD’s BUILD (Berkeley United in Literacy Program) program.

Snyder received her master’s degree in Education (with a focus on Urban Teacher Leadership) from Cal State East Bay, along with her BA degree in Liberal Studies and both her teaching and administrative credentials.

The process for finding a new principal included a survey of Encinal students and their families, and staff. These surveys showed overwhelming support in Snyder’s leadership.

“We are delighted that Ms. Snyder will be staying on as the leader of the Encinal campus,” said Superintendent Pasquale Scuderi. “The response from the Encinal community has been overwhelmingly in support of keeping her on permanently. Because of that, in combination with her experience as an educational leader, we feel confident that she can help bring Encinal into a new era of stability and growth."

Bracamontes resigned as principal after just one school year.

“Since taking over last September,” Scuderi added. “Snyder has infused a calm demeanor, listening skills, and an empathetic and student-centered brand of instructional leadership into Encinal Jr. & Sr. High School. We look forward to working with her to support her current work as well as her thinking and planning about longer-term goals for Encinal’s kids and community.”

Snyder's appointment went into effect Feb. 18.