Emerald High School Names Francis Rojas As First Principal

DUBLIN, CA ? Former Milpitas High School Principal Francis Rojas has been named the first principal of Dublin?s under-construction Emerald High School, the Dublin Unified School District announced during a special board meeting Tuesday.

Starting July 19, Rojas will oversee the planning and instructional design of the new high school. The school anticipates finishing Phase 1 of construction, which will accommodate 1,300 students, by December of 2023. The district hopes to finish Phase 2, which will allow an additional 1,200 students, by the spring of 2025.

?Emerald High School will be the first new comprehensive high school built in Alameda County in 50 years,? DUSD Superintendent Chris Funk said in a statement. ?I firmly believe that Francis brings the leadership qualities, diversity of experience, and motivation needed to open our second comprehensive high school and to create a culture of success that is embraced by our students, staff, and community.?

Rojas has served as the principal of Milpitas High School since 2017, where he oversaw 3,300 students, 250 staff members and a $1.4 million budget. Before Milpitas, he served a number of roles at James Logan High School in Union City, including vice principal, house principal, student activities director, ninth-grade family coach and classroom teacher.

He holds a masters in educational leadership from the Principal Leadership Institute, and is currently pursuing his Doctor of Education in the Leaders for Equity and Democracy Program at UC Berkeley.

?Launching a new high school requires a special skill set,? Rojas said in a statement. ?You are not asked to come in and maintain an established institution, rather, you are responsible for its creation, culture, staff, and direction. Your work has a lasting impact in the community and with the students who will walk through your halls. My entire career has worked toward an opportunity of this nature and its one I am eager to embrace, but also one I do not take lightly. I?m excited to work with the community of Dublin to add to its great history of learning and to create a unique, diverse, challenging, and welcoming environment that will enable students to thrive throughout their lives.?