Cholla Charger Network

By Christian Garcia and Juan Delgado

Mr. Miranda has now been the principal for well over two years. Now that we have students that have only known him as their principal, we have the unique opportunity to assess how students feel about him and teach a little bit about his background.

The departure of our former principal, Mr. Armenta, was met with very mixed responses as he really was in the sense “the face of Cholla” who provided a lot of spirit to our school. He was a very vibrant character who cared for his school and did above and beyond his duties as principal. Having been offered a position higher up in the TUSD ladder, he chose to move up, thus allowing someone else to assume the role as principal.

Having just completed his 20th year in education, 8 years as a teacher and 12 years in administration, Mr. Miranda has had plenty of experience working in a school setting. Having been a fill in for Mr. Armenta for the year following his absence, Mr. Miranda said he felt, “A very warm and open welcome from student and staff alike.” He understood that everyone at Cholla was a part of a family and was able to grasp the importance of connection, growth, and success. Being moved by the school’s environment along with the staff and students, Mr. Miranda decided to apply to the principal position and became Cholla’s new official principal in 2022.

Growth is a slow process, however in the last two years, Cholla has been standing out in terms of out-performing our rival schools. Earlier this year, we were declared a B-rated school. Mr. Miranda refuses to take all the credit as he knows that this was a group effort carried out by all staff and student body members. However, this makes becoming an A-rated school the next big milestone for Cholla. Mr. Miranda acknowledges that we face internal struggles, mainly in the case of attendance. He’s doing the best of his ability to address the needs of students that have other priorities outside of school. As he puts it, ” The case is different for each student, some have to drop off their siblings and get them ready for school, some students worked the graveyard shift and didn’t get home until two or three that same morning. Then you just have kids who just didn’t want to get up that morning.” It’s impossible to achieve perfect attendance in the cases of these extenuating circumstances without help from resources provided by the school. He aims to mitigate our lack of presence in the classroom, and crack down on those who have no excuse.

We’ve already started to see the change Mr. Miranda aims to bring to this school. Construction has been ongoing to replace our almost fifty-five-year -old roofs in our Sean Elliott Gym. Other projects given approval under Mr. Miranda have been aimed to improve the environment and well-being of our students; we have reaped the benefits as a result. Cholla grows with the help and influence of Mr. Miranda’s oversight.