Fresh Faculty: Bruna Lee joins the School

On Friday, November 10, Ninth and Tenth graders were informed that their history teacher, Christina Azahar, was leaving the School. Azahar had joined the School at the start of the 2023-24 school year and was a history teacher, a Women of Color Affinity Group (WOCA) advisor, and a 10th-grade advisor.

Azahar was a part of the teaching team for the School’s first-ever Ethnic Studies course. The School added an Ethnic Studies course to the 9th-grade curriculum this year after the course became a California state curriculum requirement. After the curriculum was changed, many history teachers were hired to teach this new ninth-grade course. 

Courtney Duke, Assistant Upper School Head and humanities teacher, elaborated on Azahar’s leaving, “She ended up getting a position at a non-profit that she had volunteered at for years. I also think she really appreciated the flexibility that the job offered since she has a young child.” Duke continued on how involved Azahar had been in the School, “She was really involved, I’m sad to see her go, but I’m excited to hear about where she ends up.”

Although Azahar left fairly recently, the School found a replacement quickly. Bruna Lee, a Brown and University of San Francisco graduate, will be taking Azahar’s place along with taking on the second advisor position in Expository Writing advisor. Lee has had a long history in education and has taught both History and English in San Francisco while focusing on urban education and literature. Duke commented on the excitement surrounding Lee’s hire, “We have known of Bruna and wanted her at the School for a while… and then this opportunity arose, so we’re very lucky.” 

The journalism staff, while saddened that one of our beloved advisors will no longer be able to hold that position, is excited to meet Lee. Duke describes Lee as “student-centered…, someone who is passionate about their work,” and as somebody who is “very well versed in social-emotional learning (SEL).” So, while the loss of an important community member in Azahar is difficult, many are excited to meet Lee and welcome her into the School community.