School Profile

Our President

Paul Shanahan, ’90 is the Principal/President of St. Bernard’s Academy. Paul graduated from Santa Clara University with a B.A. in English and later earned a Masters of Education in School Administration from Western Washington University while teaching in Washington. Paul began his career as a Foster Youth Educator for the Placer County Office of Education where he worked with a caseload of 50 foster students in fifteen different schools. His first classroom position was at Taylor Magnet School in the Stockton Unified School District. After two years in Stockton, Paul and his wife, Sarah, moved to Washington where he worked as a teacher, peer coach and principal for the Shoreline School District just north of Seattle. While in Shoreline, Paul was nationally recognized for his work in technology in education–named Apple Distinguished Educator in 2003 and won an AEGIS Video & Film Production Award and a Bronze Telly Award in 2005 for “Technology Engages All Learners.” While working as a teacher and principal, he saw Echo Lake recognized as one of the first Apple Distinguished Schools in the country for leadership, collaboration, and student success. A Microsoft sponsored peer coach, Paul has presented at conferenced on technology integration in Seattle, Portland, Helsinki and Seoul. Family and the rich tradition at St. Bernard’s Academy drew him back to Eureka in 2011 when he joined his alma mater as the Dean of Academics and English Teacher.