The Sunnyvale School District is welcoming back one of its very own.
Nabil Shahin is not only Sunnyvale Middle School’s new principal, he is a district alumnus.
The Sunnyvale native got his start at Cherry Chase Elementary School before heading to the former Sunnyvale Junior High School, which is now Sunnyvale Middle.
Shahin graduated from Homestead High School in 1988 and attended De Anza College until 1994, when he transferred to San Jose State University. It was at San Jose State that he earned a bachelor’s degree and a teaching credential. He earned a master’s degree in media arts at the Massachusetts College of Art in 1999.
The 43-year-old comes to the district after serving as the assistant principal for instruction at Willow Glen Middle School in the San Jose Unified School District the past four years.
Prior to that, he also served as assistant principal of Gunderson High School and as a classroom teacher at Hoover Middle School, also in San Jose Unified.
“We welcome Nabil Shahin to Sunnyvale School District as principal of Sunnyvale Middle School,” superintendent Ben Picard said. “We always seek the most talented administrators to lead our schools, and I’m so pleased to have a hometown educator emerge from a large pool of candidates who is so well qualified to lead Sunnyvale Middle School.”
Shahin was selected from a pool of 40 applicants.
He will be replacing Dorothy Abreu-Coito, who was recently promoted to director of instructional services for the coming school year.
While Shahin admits he hasn’t set foot on the middle school campus in about 30 years, he is looking forward to starting the school year in the community he grew up in.
“There are a lot of things about this school that really appeal to me,” Shahin said. “You’ve got a tremendous number of teachers here that I think are very, very committed to the kids, and that’s a good thing because that’s a crucial piece. I think I’m really looking forward to just being part of the community here. It’s just exciting to come back and be a part of the community that you grew up in.”
Shahin lives with his wife and two children in Mountain View. In his spare time, he enjoys sailing and spending time with his family.
