Alicia Payton-Miyazaki takes the helm as principal of Oak Knoll School

In her new role as principal at Oak Knoll School in Menlo Park, Alicia Payton-Miyazaki has come full circle.

“I was here as a student grades three to five before moving on to Hillview,” she tells InMenlo. “My 4th grade teacher was one of those people who was delighted to show up for work every day. I saw this adult having so much fun. The seed was planted!”

Alicia went East to college, attending Vassar before returning to California to do HIV research at Stanford Medical Center.

“While that work was fulfilling, I found it also to be lonely,” she recalls. “The drive and passion and higher calling was there but I preferred to work where I had more contact with people.”

Her passion for math and science led her to join MPCSD in 2001 as science teacher at Hillview and then becoming the district’s STEM instructional coach and Oak Knoll’s Assistant Principal.

“I’m really enjoying working with the teachers, although part of me still misses the classroom,” she says about her latest assignment.

Outside of school, Alicia enjoys walking and hiking with her family, which includes two children, a 1st and 7th grader.

“I guess that’s why I love the Oak Knoll campus so much,” she says. “There’s so much access to nature right here!”

Photo by Robb Most (c) 2021