- Sterling Middle School
- Staff home page
Phone: (571) 434-4520
Email:
Degrees and Certifications:
• B.A., cum laude in Music, Cornell University • M.M., guitar, Florida State University • M.M., ethnomusicology, FSU • M.A., Spanish, FSU • D.M., guitar, FSU • World Music Certificate, FSU • M.Ed., educational leadership, George Mason University
Dr. Gonzalo Gallardo
It’s truly wonderful to be a part of the Pioneer community as an Assistant Principal. I’m looking forward to building solid relationships with all students, and to working alongside teachers and parents to make this pivotal middle school year a remarkable one!
My last name means gallant in Spanish (the Spanish pronunciation is gah-YAHR-doh), though you’re welcome to call me Dr. G., like hundreds of students and colleagues over the years. My journey began in Peru. I grew up in Lima in the 1980s, in a time of time of socioeconomic turmoil. My parents fomented in me a love for the humanities—I especially cherish my middle school years, when I read the entire Don Quijote out loud and played the guitar for hours a day in a pre-Internet world. After high school, I spent two years in New York City studying classical guitar at the Manhattan School of Music. My passion for interdisciplinary learning then found fertile ground at Cornell University, where I cultivated experiences as varied as playing the Egyptian oud, engaging in video microscopy projects at the Veterinary School, and discovering the Marx Brothers’ films. I then moved to sunny Florida to pursue masters’ in ethnomusicology (the study of how people make music across cultures) and Spanish, along with a doctoral guitar degree at the Florida State University. I’m a proud nerd: in my spare time I like to write computer programs, play the guitar, spend time with loved ones, and write on my education blog.
Over the years, I’ve taught Spanish and music at the middle, high school, and college levels. As a former world-language teacher who facilitated tens of seniors graduating with the Virginia Seal of Biliteracy, I am especially excited to know that our grade level will resonate with over 25 language backgrounds this year! Each perspective in our multicultural community is an invaluable asset to our human sensitivity, and a joyful reminder of the motto that elegantly synthesizes the American character, E pluribus unum (“out of many, one”).