It is with great joy and pride that I re-introduce myself to the Winters community, now as the new principal of Wolfskill Career Readiness Academy! I formerly served as the Assistant Principal of Winters High School from 2017-2019 and I cannot even begin to tell you how honored, humbled, and thrilled I am to be coming back home. For me, this is the pinnacle of my career. 

I began my educational journey teaching social science at Jefferson High School in Daly City. I then served as an instructional coach at Jefferson High School, leading professional learning informed by learning data, and supporting teachers one-on-one to build greater instructional capacity and efficacy. From 2017-2019, I served as the assistant principal of Winters High School. With the utmost confidence, I can say those two years were the best of my career. The tight-knit, inclusive community, that is rooted in excellence, in Winters, is not found elsewhere. Although I left Winters after two years (to take a job closer to home as we started a family), my heart remained in Winters. For the next four years, I served Washington Unified School District as assistant principal of River City High School in which I oversaw athletics, AVID, Advanced Placement, school safety, and the implementation of more equitable systems of student support; then led the Yolo Education Center as principal, out of the pandemic. 

As principal of Wolfskill Career Readiness Academy, I am committed to leading through a lens of equity, in which our instruction, curriculum, systems of student support, and positive school culture are for all students to achieve Winters Joint Unified School District’s vision of inspiring and cultivating pathways to success. I look forward to collaborating with our dedicated staff to continue the hard work that has already been done around cycles of inquiry to drive a culture of excellent instructional practices, continue to build a positive school culture, and develop robust systems of support. It is my philosophy that students will achieve success through instruction that is relevant, rigorous, engaging, and fulfilled through meaningful relationships. I know first-hand, our staff is committed to this, and I look forward to continuing to build on this work to support students. Leading Wolfskill Career Readiness Academy in school safety, research-based instructional practices, and a student-centered culture will drive our student success to new heights.

The 2023-2024 school year is a new chapter for Wolfskill Career Readiness Academy as we integrate our school onto the Winters High School campus. This integration will ensure that our students at Wolfskill Career Readiness Academy have equitable access to the resources and opportunities they deserve and need to set them up for success. I look forward to many opportunities to support our students in developing the skills that will lead them to current and future success. 

As an educator, I am a lifelong learner, and I look forward to learning from each of you about the areas that we want to celebrate, and areas we want to focus on to continue cultivating pathways for our students and community. Please look out for future communication about parent and community meetings with me so I can learn from you about how we can best partner to support our students and community.

All the best,

Justin Young Principal, Wolfskill Career Readiness Academy jyoung@wjusd.org 530-795-6140\