Our Team

Jennifer Hughes, Principal

I am Jennifer Hughes and I am thrilled to introduce myself as the  new principal of North Terrace School. This will be my fourth year  in OUSD and I am both delighted and honored to join the TNT  community and serve as your principal!

I originally hail from Huntington Beach, California and thanks to my   incredible first grade teacher, am one of those people who knew   from an early age that I wanted to be an educator. Education has   been my life's work and my passion. 

I began my career as an elementary teacher in Orange and Temecula and later taught middle school English as well.  After 15 years, I shifted out of the classroom and had the pleasure of working as an instructional coach to support K-12 teachers in deepening their instructional and assessment practices. I have since spent the majority of my career serving as an administrator at the school and district level focusing on curriculum, professional learning, and school leadership in California, North Carolina, and in schools around the world.

Combining a love for teaching and travel, it was years ago that my husband (an art teacher) and I decided to put everything we owned into storage, pack up our kids, and head overseas for what we thought would be a one-year adventure teaching at a school founded by the US Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia.  We loved it so much that we stayed for 5 years (and had our third child)!  With a continued sense of wanderlust,  we went on to live and work in other top notch schools sponsored by the US Department of State and Office of Overseas Schools in China, Russia, and Jordan. 

As your principal, the heart of my work lies in ensuring all students receive the very best opportunities for learning that we can create and have access to the resources and experiences that will allow them to excel academically and personally.  I believe it is by partnering with families and working together that we can best support each child’s learning journey and help all of our students make a positive difference in our world.

As we begin to build our relationships over the coming year and beyond, my hope is you will find that I am a very genuine and open school leader. I warmly invite you to take a moment and come and talk to me about any ideas you have or opportunities you see to make North Terrace an even better place for our students, families, and staff. 

I look forward to partnering with you and the amazing staff, families, and students of this strong community, for an absolutely fabulous academic year. 

Yours in learning,

Principal Hughes