This year, SJHHS is welcoming three new assistant principals: Heather Bosworth, Brian Brosamer, and Amanda Bratcher. Each new administrator is excited to get to know the campus, students, and SJH community.   

Heather Bosworth

Heather Bosworth, assistant principal of student services, is a new addition to the SJHHS staff. 

She has worked in education for 17 years, four of which were in CUSD. Before joining administration she worked as a teacher at Ladera Ranch Elementary school.

However, when she was in school, Bosworth did not have a positive experience. She hopes to help students enjoy their four years in high school.

“I was very shy, quiet and I absolutely hated school.  It might seem ironic that someone who disliked school chose to go into education as a career. I chose a career in education because I don’t want any students to have to feel the way I felt in high school.  I want kids to know that I recognize that everyone has stuff going on in their lives and I understand how impactful that can be on your daily school life.  I want all students to feel connected at school,” said Bosworth.

Bosworth is frequently seen around campus, walking through classrooms and outside at lunch. As it’s her first year riding for the brand, she wants to build strong foundations with the SJHHS community.

“My goal is to build effective relationships with students and families so that I can support them in the ways they need. I would love to learn at least one thing about each student on campus,” said Bosworth.

So far on campus, Bosworth has been enjoying her time at the football games and meeting new teachers. However, she has a distinct favorite part of being an administrator.

“My favorite part of being an assistant principal is building connections with students. The best thing I’ve seen on campus so far this year is students. It is a great feeling to have students back on campus and campus life in full force, getting to experience all the exciting elements of high school such as pep rallies, sporting events, dances, etc.,” said Bosworth.

Overall, Bosworth would like students to know that she is always here to help support the stallion community.

“I want students to know my office is a safe place and I am here for them,” said Bosworth.

Brian Brosamer: 

A long term educator, assistant principal Brian Brosamer has worked in the field for 32 years, 27 of which have been in CUSD. 

He started as a 7th grade history teacher at Newhart middle school. He then went on to teach at Don Juan Avila Middle school, and became an Assistant Principal at the Aliso Viejo Middle school for 14 years. He was also an assistant principal at Aliso Niguel High School before transferring to SJHHS.

“I just wanted to get a change. If you’re at a place for a long time you kind of want to do something different and be in a different environment,” said Brosamer.

Brosamer is in charge of discipline and safety as well as overseeing the athletics and visual/performing arts departments. While he may be the discipline head, he is still a friendly face around campus for students.

“Unfortunately part of my job is having to discipline, but that’s not the fun part of my job. The fun part of my job is interacting with students. Going to football games, seeing plays, doing all the activities, the dances. That’s definitely the best part of the job,” said Brosamer.

When he was in high school, Brosamer was your typical student.

“I was one of those very average guys. I didn’t get in trouble. I didn’t get super great grades. I was always kinda like C, B. I did play sports though. I played football and tennis. I had a small group of friends,” said Brosamer.

As a new administrator he hopes to facilitate a successful high school experience, and will tweak items accordingly.

“Sometimes it’s nice to see something with fresh eyes. If you’re doing something for so long you may not notice that you need to change something. So I’m kind of sitting back and then any kinds of tweaks or changes I need to make for certain things then I’ll do,” said Brosamer.

Brosamer is eager to get to know the students and staff, and to learn more about campus life.

“I love the facility itself. The school itself is phenomenal. The theater, the offices, the classrooms are amazing. And you guys, the students, seem fine. Everybody seems very well behaved and everybody seems focused on what they’re doing,” said Brosamer. 

The assistant principal is often found walking through classrooms and outside at lunch. He is excited to build greater connections with the students on campus. 

“Don’t be afraid to talk to me. I’m here to help you guys, it’s not the other way around. Sometimes I know I have to discipline, but that’s not all that I’m about. Don’t be afraid to come see me for anything,” said Brosamer.

Amanda Bratcher: 

Amanda Bratcher is one of the three new assistant principals, but she is not new to the campus. 

Bratcher previously worked as a program specialist, overseeing CUSD’s middle and high school’s special education programs. She has worked on every high school campus in CUSD, and when she heard that San Juan Hills was hiring a new assistant principal she immediately decided to pursue the opportunity. Her main reasoning was that she found SJHHS’s culture unique from other high schools. 

“A lot of your staff have opened the school and bonded,” said Bratcher, “They’ve worked together for a long time and that vibe and that general positivity and closeness naturally trickles down to your students.”

In high school Bratcher loved playing sports, including basketball,volleyball, and  softball. She was very social and involved with her school as the ASB sophomore and junior class president.

Bratcher is just as social now as she was then and enjoys talking to students whenever she can.

“I actually know more students’ names than teachers’ names, which is something that I think is really cool, like I was walking around campus today and I could actually say ‘hi’ to more than 15 kids,” said Bratcher.

Bratcher is assigned to students with last names from H-O, and is in charge of the special education and physical education departments, but her roles on campus extend beyond those sections. Like many staff members, she is also part of traffic duty after school and works on COVID-19 related matters on campus. 

“We’ve been doing a lot of contact tracing, my days are filled with that,” said Bratcher.

Off campus, Bratcher loves to travel to Mammoth Mountain for a range of activities. 

“I love fishing, I always snowboard up there. My family has a cabin up there, now I go in the summer and I love to hike Rainbow Falls and Devil’s PostPile,” said Bratcher.

She also enjoys road tripping. “If it’s anywhere in the States, sign me up for a road trip,” said Bratcher. Her longest drive so far has been from California to Connecticut. The majority of these trips are to see various baseball fields across the states, and she’s done these trips since she was a kid. 

While she loves traveling, Bratcher says she can’t imagine living anywhere besides California.

“I’ve always lived in southern California, I even went to college in southern California,” said Bratcher. “In one day we can surf and snowboard, how rad is that?”

One of Bratcher’s favorite parts of her job is connecting with students, and she wants them to know they can come to her if they need assistance.