Two new vice principals for Sonoma Valley High School

Sonoma Valley High School has two new administrators: Amanda Dowdy and Connor Snow have been named as Vice Principals by the Sonoma Valley Unified School District.

With the new hires, the district has filled all its principal and vice-principal openings for the school year that begins August 15.

Dowdy joins SVHS from Petaluma City Schools where she taught for the past 11 years. She had additional responsibilities as a site and district technology teacher leader, providing professional development to Petaluma City Schools as well as Sonoma Valley in the past. 

Guided Language Acquisition Design (GLAD) certified, Dowdy has served as the administrative designee for  several years for her current site, McNear Elementary School. In this role she assisted teachers and staff with student discipline, Individual Education Plan attendance and a liaison to the parent  community. 

“I have always loved the Sonoma Valley and am lucky to work here,” she said of the new job. “I am honored to serve the SVUSD and SVHS  community in this capacity.  I can’t wait to meet the staff and students.” 

Dowdy shone bright in her interviews, said SVHS Principal Molly Kiss, who was hired in May. “She clearly has set a course towards school leadership and has  taken advantage of all options provided to her. That work ethic and  commitment will be a wonderful addition to our team.”  

Snow comes from Tamalpais Union High School District where he has served as Vice Principal for the past three years. Prior to that, Snow taught Science and eventually became Assistant Principal at Montera Middle School in Oakland Unified School District.  

At Tamalpais High School, Snow played a key role in the development  of school-wide professional learning and the implementation of school-wide interventions to support student success. At Montera Middle School, he taught life science, served as the site’s data and technology  teacher leader, and as a provider of staff-wide professional development in  instructional technology.  

Snow said that in his career as a teacher and administrator, “I have had the opportunity to work  with a diverse group of students and staff. I have worked to engage and  inspire students from all walks of life and I believe these experiences will  prove to be effective and helpful as I strive to serve Sonoma Valley High School”. 

Snow’s experience includes discipline response and management, and community engagement around socio-emotional support for  secondary students.  

Kriss said Snow brings “extensive expertise in areas that we have identified as priorities within our site and his collaborative  approach will prove effective at SVHS.”

Snow’s wife, Chrissie, is a SVHS alumnus. They have a two-year-old daughter. The family recently moved to Sonoma Valley.

“I believe in serving the community where I live,” he said, “and as a new resident to Sonoma, I look forward to learning and growing with SVUSD.”