Ms. Shimada
Ms. Shimada became the high school Principal in September, 2022 and the 2023 school year will be her 13th year at The ASK Academy. She is pleased to have taught and worked with some families for over a decade (not the same scholar, but multiple people from the same family--just to clarify).
Prior to becoming Principal, Ms. Shimada served as the Director of Special Services and taught English. Ms. Shimada has taught every grade level of English, including AP Literature & Composition and AP Language and Composition. She believes that success in life stems from outstanding oral and written communication skills. In addition, Ms. Shimada has also taught Data Science, Advanced Research, and Senior Seminar. She has coached many teams at ASK, including the NM Governor’s STEM Challenge and the ROADS Challenge sponsored by NASA.
Before ASK, Ms. Shimada was the Academic Dean at the Public Academy for Performing Arts and also taught middle school math, Algebra, Earth Science, AP Literature & Composition, AP Language & Composition, Senior Seminar, and College Success Experience. She spent 10 years at Rio Rancho High School as the gifted program director and academic counselor, and also taught electives for 150 gifted students in grades 10 through 12. While working on a doctoral degree, she was a graduate teaching assistant and taught a graduate level class in Universal Design for Special Education. She was also adjunct faculty at the College of Santa Fe where she taught Research in Education and Central New Mexico Community College where she taught College Success Experience. She is ABD (all but dissertation) and is fine with that because she liked taking classes and never really found a topic she wanted to write about.
Education is her second career. Before becoming a teacher, Ms. Shimada worked as a Managing Consultant in human resources specializing in compensation and employee benefits. An “empty nester,” she and her husband enjoy traveling to Europe and eating at a plethora of restaurants—without her daughter.
