Dr. Charlene Shimada is the Principal at Alameda Elementary School in the Downey Unified School District in California. She was a 1st grade teacher in Glendale Unified for 5 years. Then she returned to teaching in Downey, where she taught the 1st and 5th grades at Lewis Elementary School and Carpenter Elementary School, where she taught 5th grade and was a Categorical Teacher. Her career as principal started 6 years ago at Alameda. Dr. Shimada said, “Every day I am blessed by our students, families, and staff.” She received her Doctorate in Educational Leadership from USC in 2019.