PUSD Appoints New Principal at Willard Elementary

Maricela Brambila has been appointed principal of Willard Elementary, an International Baccalaureate School.

Brambila, an alumna of John Muir High School and the mother of PUSD students who attended Willard, replaces Dr. Angela Baxter, who accepted a director position in another district.

“I am so excited to join the Willard Elementary School, an IB World School community,” said Brambila, who previously served as assistant principal at Pasadena High School.

“I have always had a profound respect for the great work of Dr. Baxter and the staff at Willard and I am honored to have an opportunity to continue and build on that work within the IB Primary Years Programme,” she said.

PUSD Superintendent Brian McDonald thanked Baxter for her service and wished her well in her new position, and explained why the district had to move fast to fill her position.

“Although we highly value the input of parents and staff in the selection of new principals, with the full reopening of the new school year just weeks away, we have to move quickly to appoint a new principal,” McDonald said in a prepared statement.

“I am pleased to appoint Maricela Brambila as principal of Willard Elementary, an International Baccalaureate (IB) School,” McDonald said. “Ms. Brambila is an experienced school administrator with strong experience in IB programs.”

Brambila served as assistant principal of Pasadena High School from 2019 to 2021. Before that, she was assistant principal at Blair Middle and High School from 2011 to 2019. As a secondary English Learner program specialist from 2006 to 2011, she supported English learners and facilitated the committee that developed the International Academy at Blair. Brambila joined PUSD in 1994 as a bilingual instructional aide and was an English teacher at Blair from 1995 to 2005.

“As a former Willard parent, I have a great appreciation for the warm and supportive environment of the Willard community and I can’t wait to be part of the team that provides that to the current and future generations of Wildcats,” Brambila said.

“I look forward to meeting, and learning from, our students, families, and staff, and most importantly, to an amazing school year,” she said.