Principal & Assistant Principals

Martel Price

Principal

“I am OUSD” is a motto that I am proud to embrace as I am alumni and longtime employee of Oakland Public Schools and I am honored to be the Principal at OUSD’s flagship High School, Oakland Technical High School.

Martel Price was born in Los Angeles, and moved to Oakland when he was one month old and he attended OUSD schools throughout his childhood.  After graduating from Skyline High School in 1992, he  pursued a Bachelor's Degree in American Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz.  Upon graduation in 1996, he joined a local trade union (L.U. 510), before deciding to become a teacher in 1999.  After 15 years of teaching, 8 of them at Oakland Tech, he decided to obtain his Master’s Degree in Administrative Leadership from California State University East Bay.  After doing so, he  was fortunate enough to be able to step into a leadership position at Oakland Tech, where he worked as the 9th grade Assistant Principal for six years. He became the Principal of Oakland Tech during the 2022-2023 academic year and looks forward to his 2nd year as Principal in 2023-2024.  He is the proud parent of a recent Oakland Tech graduate (℅ 22’) and a current Bulldog that will be graduate with the class of 2027. Go Bulldogs!!

Read Mr. Price's Mission Statement

Pronouns: he/him

Office: Main Office, Lower Campus

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De’Shawn Woolridge

Assistant Principal
12th Grade and Health Academy

Dr. Woolridge was born in Oakland, CA and attended primary schools in Alameda County until high school, where he moved to Pittsburg. He attended high school at Pittsburg High School until August 2008, graduating a year early. Post high school, he attended school at Los Medanos and Diablo Valley College earning three associates degrees in Admin of Justice, Liberal Arts and Political Science. Following his community college journey, he transferred to a four year institution to complete his undergraduate studies. In 2012, he graduate from University of the Pacifc with a Bachelors in Political Science. In later years, Dr. Woolridge earned two Master degrees in Public Administration and Special Education, and a doctorate in education, along with two teaching and an administrative credential. Dr. Woolridge has taught for nine years, seven in a variety of special education settings and two in a general education setting. Currently he serves as an Assistant Principal at a traditional high school in Oakland, California. Dr. Woolridge was elected to the Pittsburg Unified School District Board of Education in 2014, re-elected in 2018, and re-elected in Nov 2022. He has twice served as the board's vice president and board president respectively. 

Pronouns: he/him

Office: Room 107, Main Building, Lower Campus

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Shalonda Tillman

Assistant Principal
11th Grade and Engineering

Pronouns: she/her

Office: Room 111, Main Building, Lower Campus

 

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Mark Dieter

Assistant Principal
10th Grade; Engineering Academy and Science

Mark Dieter began working in classroom settings at Newark Junior High in 2001, where he taught 7th and 8th grade Science as well as a STEM Science elective class. He also served as a Professional Development Coordinator in Newark before transitioning to High School teaching at Encinal High School in Alameda. At Encinal, he taught Biology, Marine Biology, AP Biology, and served as Science Department Chair. He has served as a middle school administrator for the past 3 years in San Leandro and Pinole.

Mr. Dieter embraces life long learning. He earned a Bachelors of Science in Forestry and Wildlife from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1996. He earned a teaching credential through Project Pipeline (now Fortune University) in 2003. In 2017, he was awarded a Master of Science in Educational Leadership from California State University East Bay. Having children of his own has had a major impact on Mr. Dieter’s perspective on education. Their experiences in school regularly cause him to reflect on the impact of education on the lives of all students. He continues to learn and grow by reading, both fiction and non-fiction, seeking out and considering the perspectives of those around him who have different life experiences from him, and taking classes and seminars that broaden his knowledge base.

Mr. Dieter is excited to be part of the Oakland Tech Community. In his role at Assistant Principal, he hopes to strengthen the community through his passion for Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS), restorative justice, equity and access, social and emotional supports, and community connections. He looks forward to building relationships with stakeholders and community members this year.. Go Bulldogs!

Pronouns: he/him

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Heather Palin

Assistant Principal
9th Grade

Heather Palin is a life-long educator, dedicated to creating equitable outcomes for all students. She began her career as a paraprofessional, then she became a teacher at Mission High School in San Francisco. Palin attended graduate school in New York City, where she moved into a school leadership role at The Facing History School in New York City. 

For eight years, Palin served as principal of Emerson Elementary School, here in Oakland. During her tenure at Emerson, she led a complex turnaround effort, resulting in the transformation of a struggling school into a joyful, safe, and inclusive learning environment for children, teachers and families.

As a principal, Palin adopted the Community Schools Model, building wrap-around services for students while also building a Multi-Tiered System of Supports framework to support all students. Coupled with hiring and retaining excellent teachers that hold anti-racism, inclusion and joy as core tenets of teaching, Emerson saw dramatic improvements in multiple areas. Most recently, Palin served as the Director of MTSS in Oakland, supporting the adoption and alignment to California's research based MTSS Framework.  During her time in this role, Oakland Unified saw dramatic reductions in Chronic Absenteeism.  The team attributes this to the incredible work of teams at school sites, and laser focus on data-driven strategies to support kids and families.

Palin is thrilled to be joining the Oakland Tech Team, as the Assistant Principal for 9th grade.

Pronouns: she/her

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LaDonna Williams

Assistant Principal
9th Grade and 9th Grade Pathway

LaDonna Williams was born and raised in Oakland,Ca and attended Oakland Schools for Elementary and Junior High. LaDonna attended Holy Names High School which prepared her to become the first person in her immediate family to attend College. LaDonna attended and graduated from Cal State East Bay. After Attending Cal State East Bay, LaDonna Worked for a program based out of the University of San Francisco called TEAMS which placed teachers of color in Independent or schools with small numbers of students of color who felt marginalized by lack of representation. Through this program LaDonna worked for Bay Area School Reform Collaborative (now called Springboard Schools). It was through her work with BASRC that LaDonna was inspired to  become a Teacher. LaDonna’s first introduction to teaching was a 2nd grade class at St. Martin De Porres Catholic School.  LaDonna attended USF’s Teaching Credential Program where she earned her Single Subject Credential in English, teaching varying subjects for High School students such as: Reading Intervention, ELD 1-4, 10th grade English, and 12th grade English and Special Education. LaDonna went to earn her Master’s in Education and Administrative Credential through UC Berkeley’s Principal Leadership Institute which led her to serve as administrator in West Contra Costa and Oakland School Districts serving as a High School Assistant Principal, Middle School Assistant Principal, and Principal, and Teacher Coach. Ms. Williams will be returning to Oakland Tech as the 9th grade Assistant Principal for her 3rd year and looks forward to working with our teacher teams to create a meaningful 9th grade experience for our incoming students. Nothing could be more exciting than being part of the OT Community and it is my hope to continue to make the community stronger through establishing meaningful relationships  with stakeholders,  holding standards for academic excellence, and embodying the OT Spirit. Let’s Go Bulldogs!!!

Pronouns: she/her