Alpha Public Schools
Russell Michaud has a diverse work experience. Russell started their career in 2008 as a Barista at Starbucks. In 2009, they worked as an Elementary Special Education Teacher at Alum Rock School District and also served as an Extended School Year Principal for a brief period in 2013. From 2010 to 2014, they worked at Teach For America, first as a Phone Interview Selector and then as a Corps Member Advisor. Since 2014, Russell has been working as the Managing Director of Special Education at Alpha Public Schools.
Russell Michaud obtained a Master's degree in Educational Leadership from San Jose State University in the years 2012 to 2014. Prior to that, they earned a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Ithaca College from 2004 to 2008. In addition to their degrees, Russell has also obtained a certification in the All Means All School Leadership Program from All Means All in May 2022.
Alpha Public Schools
Alpha Public Schools is a network of public charter TK-12 schools that aims to put scholars on the path to college success – and keep them there. All Alpha students will develop not only the knowledge, but also the skills and character traits they will need to succeed in college and career. Founded in 2010 by a dedicated, experienced team that has achieved extraordinary academic results with students in other under-resourced communities, Alpha was created in response to overwhelming community and parent demand in the San Francisco Bay Area. In fall 2012, we opened our first school, Alpha: Blanca Alvarado School in east San Jose, California. The school serves grades 5-8. In fall 2014, we opened our second school, Alpha: Jose Hernandez School, and in 2015 we opened our first high school, Alpha: Cindy Avitia High School. In 2016, we joined forces with the highly acclaimed Cornerstone Academy that serves grades K-8. At the beginning of 2019, we started building out the elementary grades at both Alpha: Blanca Alvarado and Alpha: Jose Hernandez, with the goal of them growing into TK-8 schools in the future. Alpha is driven by our mission, vision and core beliefs- that all students can learn, that our scholars belong in college, and that student growth is a reflection of the teacher’s practice. Alpha is fiercely entrepreneurial and we are focused on supporting our scholars as they grow into self-reliant leaders who will achieve success in their school, college, and career. We're committed to finding educators who value and amplify the diverse experiences of our staff and scholars and their families, and who care deeply about addressing the inequities that exist in education.