by Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

Eduardo Acevedo recently entered his second week as the new principal at Sumner Danbury Elementary School in charge of Danbury programs.

The Pomona resident takes over for former principal Sarah Estrada, who is now Claremont Unified School District’s director of special education.

Acevedo, 31, previously spent eight years with Glendora Unified School District, where he worked at Sandburg Middle School as a moderate to severe special education teacher, as a summer school principal at Cullen Elementary School, and in leadership roles with the Foothill Consortium Induction Program. In 2020, he was named GUSD’s teacher of the year.

Acevedo is energized about the year ahead, where he’ll be engaging with Sumner Danbury students, faculty, and parents, overseeing Sumner SDC programs, and coordinating staff meetings and school events.

“I’m really excited to be here,” he said. “I feel completely welcomed by the community, by the staff, and I feel like this is where I belong. I hope that under my leadership I can make a positive impact in the school community and in the broader community of Claremont.”

Acevedo said he will be a responsive outlet for questions and concerns and someone who “will always put students first.”

“I strongly believe in being a servant leader,” he said. “I’m here to serve our teachers, our staff, our students, our parents, and our community. Being a special education teacher is the hardest job. Having that strong support system makes or breaks how teachers feel about their work. And I’m hopeful I can be that for them.”

Acevedo grew up in Baldwin Park and said he was inspired by his family and teachers to pursue a career in special education.

“Growing up and going through our public school system, I didn’t see a lot of people that looked like me, a lot of minorities, especially male minorities. I saw that as a disservice to students who look like me, and I wanted to be that role model,” he said. “I went to school with my cousin who has autism. I saw how much he was struggling, and I saw that there is a benefit of students being in special education and receiving services. That’s when I really truly fell in love with special education and I knew that that’s what I wanted to pursue when I got into college.”

New Sumner Danbury Elementary School principal in charge of Danbury programs Eduardo Acevedo outside the school last Friday. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo

After graduating from Baldwin Park High School in 2009, Acevedo stuck to his word and earned his bachelor’s degree in liberal studies with an emphasis in education from Cal Poly Pomona four year later. The first-generation college graduate also met his wife, Stevy, there.

In 2013, Acevedo enrolled at Claremont Graduate University to receive a special education credential to instruct children with mild to moderate disabilities. That same year, he started teaching in South Los Angeles at Animo Legacy Charter Middle School, where he worked with special needs students.

Claremont Graduate University has “a strong belief in social justice,” he said. “They really challenged us to go into high need communities, so that’s why I went to South LA. I quickly realized that I was meant to be there, that I was making a positive impact on the students there and a lot of the students looked like me.

“That’s when I knew I had to go back to CGU and get my moderate to severe credential. And then, that’s how I got hired at Glendora Unified School District.”

Acevedo began with GUSD in 2015 after earning his second credential.

“I really got to know the community, and I really got to know the staff in a whole different level,” he said of his former district. “But why come to CUSD? Because they have a very strong commitment in their core values, which are excellence, equity, innovation, integrity. I strongly believe in equitable education for all students, regardless of their disability. We have programs here [at Sumner Danbury] that are specifically designated to help students make progress behaviorally, academically, and linguistically.”

From special education teacher to principal, Acevedo said he made the transition so he could provide teachers support from a unique angle.

“I just never had a principal with a special education background,” he explained. “I want to be that for all of our teachers here at Sumner Danbury. I want to be that support system.”

Although tough work, he knows slow and steady progress can yield big academic achievements for the often underserved community.

“It’s heartwarming. Any incremental progress is heartwarming. And it’s even more heartwarming when parents see that progress and students are able to generalize the skills that we’re working with them at school, at home,” he said. “That’s what I get out of it.”