Principal Jamie Norell accepted her new position at Walnut High School on May 30, 2025, following former principal Dr. Michele Lew’s sudden resignation.
After joining the school, Norell met with the administrative staff over the summer to connect and work together as a team to start the school year strong. Norell hopes to both continue school traditions and instill new ideas within Walnut culture.
“I’m doing a lot of one-on-one meetings with staff to get to know them and get to know what some of their needs are,” Norrell said. “The only thing I would want to change is the amount of trash on campus. I want to empower students to take pride in their campus and pick up trash.”
As the first few weeks of school start, Norell makes an effort to get to know the students.
“I’ve talked to her a few times about rally themes that are coming up or spirit week ideas we want to run by her, and all the times I’ve talked with her, she’s been great,” Associated Student Body President Ryan Harada said. “She’s very to the point and has a great vision for what the school is going to become, something I think we can build off of and make a reality.”
As the daughter of the late former principal Ken Gunn, Norell believes her father has left a legacy behind and plans on continuing the values her father believed in. At her time at Walnut High School as a student, Norell spent time with her father, learning about the principles he held as principal.
“I remember sitting in my dad’s conference room, the same conference room that’s there right now, and he had written up on the board: ‘kids come first’. He looked at me and he said, ‘You don’t understand how difficult that can be at times when you’re making decisions. You want to please adults, but you always have to keep what’s best for the kids on this campus.’ That’s the biggest leadership lesson that has guided me,” Norell said.
The interview process went on throughout May, and Norell arrived at Walnut High School on Thursday, May 29, the day of graduation, to interview for the principal position.
“By the night of graduation, there was a decision. While I was waiting for them to make the decision and let me know whether to come back in for more questioning, I drove around Walnut, wanting to see what the stadium looked like at graduation and the local businesses like Donut Tree,” Norell said. “ I was told that night that I was offered the position, and I accepted.”
Norell describes the next couple of days at Glendora High School after being accepted for her new position at Walnut High.
“I was up all night, calling the people I knew I had to tell myself, and then I scheduled a staff meeting to tell the staff in the morning. That was a tough couple of days. And then that Saturday, Glendora played for a CIF championship. So I literally went from the most emotional moment to a really joyous one,” Norell said.
On top of her role as principal, Norell also ensures that she spends time with her family.
“Family has to come first. It doesn’t mean abandoning your job at the moment, but it means really trying to prioritize the things that are important to my family and making sure I’m there to support them. People get to know me and know how much I care about this school, but I had to balance that with being able to fly to Pittsburgh to see my son play football and be at some of my younger son’s events too.”
While Norell enjoys spending time with her family, she also has to learn how to balance her responsibilities at school and her personal hobbies.
“During the pandemic, we started this thing where to escape our children being locked in a house so much, we started this six mile walk. So we do that now, every morning on the weekends, I get a Starbucks halfway through. That’s my treat. And our dog, Bruin, also gets a treat, her pup cup,” Norell said.
However, Norell has had her fair share of personal battles. Even while battling breast cancer, she fought to find balance in her life.
“There was about a two-year period where I was going through chemo and surgeries and had to balance my health, family and work. I think that made me realize that even though I said ‘family first,’ I was at work 24/7, and I wasn’t modeling it myself. It was in that moment that I realized that I only had such limited energy [while trying to balance my administrative duties and health] that I really did have to be focused on one or the other. I couldn’t juggle as much,” Norell said. “I always wear a bracelet that goes back to that one quality that says, ‘find the silver lining in any moment.’ I kept it on during chemo and I’ve worn it ever since, because it’s really important to find the good things about your day every day.
With a start to the new school year, Norell has connected with several district personnel and made further connections with the Walnut community.
“She’s the kind of leader that really connects with people and takes the time to get to know [everyone]; and it’s clear that building strong relationships is very important to her. At the same time, she’s very skilled at making sure the school runs smoothly and effectively,” superintendent Dr. Robert Taylor said. “She brings the perfect mix of caring about people and strengthening the systems that help everyone succeed.”
