Carlee Rasmussen

I’m Carlee, assistant principal at South Junior High in the Anaheim Union High School District.

This work started to matter to me at San Quentin, helping men serving life sentences prepare for parole board hearings. For many of them, the road there traced back to limited access and opportunity during their school years. That was a turning point. I wanted to help build pathways for students who might otherwise be left out.

I spent the next eight years teaching special education and kept seeing the same thing: the signs showed up long before a student reached my caseload. As an assistant principal, I’ve learned that real change takes more than stepping in one student at a time. It takes better systems, and research that shows what actually works.