Pleasanton Middle School principal Joe Nguyen has announced that after nearly four years at the school he will be resigning from his administrative position effective June 30.

"While I will miss our Panther community, I am looking forward to a new opportunity and challenge," Nguyen said in a statement to the Weekly. "This was not an easy decision to make, as I have enjoyed my time here at Pleasanton Middle School and continue to be amazed by the dedication of our staff and the support of our families."

While Nguyen will continue to serve as principal until the end of this school year, the Pleasanton Unified School District has already begun the recruitment process to replace Nguyen by the end of the term in June, according to PUSD director of communications Patrick Gannon.

"We would like to thank Joe Nguyen for his dedication and service to the Pleasanton Middle School community over the last four years. We wish him well in his future endeavors," Gannon said.

Gannon added that Nguyen did not want to disclose his next career plans as he wants to mainly focus on his time remaining at Pleasanton Middle School. Nguyen also did not provide any direct reason as to why he was resigning.

The news of Ngyuen's departure comes just a couple of months after administrators faced criticism from parents about the response to a Pleasanton Middle School student who punched and stomped on the head of another student in front of the Pleasanton Public Library on Jan. 19, an incident that was captured on video and went viral on local social media.

Nguyen was first hired in July 2019, coming to Pleasanton after working as principal at Iron Horse Middle School in San Ramon for seven years. He had been appointed by the Pleasanton school board to succeed Jill Butler, who retired that year after also serving four years as principal at the school.

Nguyen's move to Pleasanton came about when he was at Iron Horse and Hart Middle School reached out to Iron Horse for assistance creating a multi-tiered systems of support program. He began working with the teachers and staff during that time, and when he saw that Pleasanton Middle School needed a principal, he said he jumped at the opportunity.

A son of Vietnamese immigrants, Nguyen spent most of his childhood in San Leandro before moving to Los Angeles for college. While pursuing pre-dentistry at the University of California, Los Angeles, Nguyen took an upper division teaching assistant class at a fifth grade classroom where he realized his love for teaching.

That's when he switched his major and returned to the Bay Area after completing his bachelor's degree in psychology. He has been working in education ever since.

"I am grateful for the relationships that were forged here," Nguyen said. "There are many promising opportunities on the horizon at Pleasanton Middle School that will have a positive impact on our students and know that our Panther community will continue to thrive." n