Jamie F. Almanzán
Director of Teacher Development

Jamie Frederick Almanzán was born and raised in Palo Alto, California. After his public school education, Jamie worked his way through California State University, Chico and obtained his BA in English Literature in 1994. After college he was drawn to the classroom where he began as an assistant and then became a teacher of a K-5 elementary Special Day Class at Ohlone Elementary. This experience sparked his passion for education. He then decided to pursue graduate work in curriculum and instruction at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education. Jamie’s study at Stanford promoted his desire to work in educational reform for traditionally underserved student populations. His graduate work was focused on instruction for English Language Learners (ELL) and curricular and instructional reform for equity in the classroom. Jamie began his classroom teaching at Independence High School in East San José where he taught ELL students from grades 9 through 12. After receiving his Masters degree and teaching credential, his teaching career brought him back to Palo Alto to teach at the very middle school he had attended, Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School (JLS). There he taught 7th and 8th grade ELL students and 7th grade Language Arts. At JLS, Jamie helped establish a school-wide site goal to promote equity on campus. He was a founding member of the committee for equity on campus. He was also a founder of the Equity Awareness Task Force for the Palo Alto Unified School District. He was the co-director of an after-school program created to promote equity for underserved students, as well as the designer and director of an after-school program for Latino students. Jamie has designed and facilitated numerous professional development seminars and training for teachers and administrators. Jamie currently is an associate at PEG. PEG advocates for school reform to ensure equitable learning opportunities and results for underserved student populations.