Etiwanda High School Principal Don Jaramillo is retiring this May from a career he was never supposed to have.

“My father said ‘get a job or go to school,’” Jaramillo recalled. “I was an aspiring trumpet player, wanting to play in night clubs. I was, as a senior in high school, doing that gig.”

But when he started taking classes at San Bernardino Valley College, and then briefly at UCLA before graduating from Cal State Fullerton, something clicked inside him.

“I had no idea that college education and working with young people could be so inspiring, even though I loved playing my horn,” Jaramillo said.

Etiwanda High School Principal Don Jaramillo is retiring this May from a career he was never supposed to have. “My father said ‘get a job or go to school,’” Jaramillo recalled. “I was an aspiring trumpet player, wanting to play in night clubs. I was, as a senior in high school, doing that gig.” But […]

Etiwanda High School Principal Don Jaramillo is retiring this May from a career he was never supposed to have. “My father said ‘get a job or go to school,’” Jaramillo recalled. “I was an aspiring trumpet player, wanting to play in night clubs. I was, as a senior in high school, doing that gig.” But […]

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Etiwanda High School Principal Don Jaramillo is retiring this May from a career he was never supposed to have. “My father said ‘get a job or go to school,’” Jaramillo recalled. “I was an aspiring trumpet player, wanting to play in night clubs. I was, as a senior in high school, doing that gig.” But […]

Etiwanda High School Principal Don Jaramillo is retiring this May from a career he was never supposed to have. “My father said ‘get a job or go to school,’” Jaramillo recalled. “I was an aspiring trumpet player, wanting to play in night clubs. I was, as a senior in high school, doing that gig.” But […]

Etiwanda High School Principal Don Jaramillo is retiring this May from a career he was never supposed to have. “My father said ‘get a job or go to school,’” Jaramillo recalled. “I was an aspiring trumpet player, wanting to play in night clubs. I was, as a senior in high school, doing that gig.” But […]



Etiwanda High School Principal Don Jaramillo is retiring this May from a career he was never supposed to have. “My father said ‘get a job or go to school,’” Jaramillo recalled. “I was an aspiring trumpet player, wanting to play in night clubs. I was, as a senior in high school, doing that gig.” But […]

Students stand behind Etiwanda High Principal Donald Jaramillo yelling “Eagle Pride.” He retires at the end of the year. Photographed on Etiwanda, Calif. campus Thursday, March 27, 2019. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Darryl Jackson, 16, and Etiwanda High Principal Donald Jaramillo embrace on the Etiwanda, Calif. campus. “He’s a great dude and well rounded. I’ve only been here a year, but he’s already made on impact on me,” Jackson says. Principal Jaramillo retires at the end of 2019, after more than 35 years in education. Photographed on Thursday, March 27, 2019. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Etiwanda High Principal Donald Jaramillo, right, greets students with a smile on the Etiwanda, Calif. campus. He’ll be 62 in Sept. “I’ll be the first time in 56 years that I won’t be at school in the Fall,” the retiring Jaramillo says added that he’s always had perfect attendance Thursday, March 27, 2019. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Etiwanda High School Principal Don Jaramillo is retiring this May from a career he was never supposed to have. “My father said ‘get a job or go to school,’” Jaramillo recalled. “I was an aspiring trumpet player, wanting to play in night clubs. I was, as a senior in high school, doing that gig.” But […]



Etiwanda High School Principal Don Jaramillo is retiring this May from a career he was never supposed to have. “My father said ‘get a job or go to school,’” Jaramillo recalled. “I was an aspiring trumpet player, wanting to play in night clubs. I was, as a senior in high school, doing that gig.” But […]

Etiwanda High School Principal Don Jaramillo is retiring this May from a career he was never supposed to have. “My father said ‘get a job or go to school,’” Jaramillo recalled. “I was an aspiring trumpet player, wanting to play in night clubs. I was, as a senior in high school, doing that gig.” But […]

Given the opportunity to tour the East Coast for a semester with an R&B band, Jaramillo chose to stay in college and on track for his degree.

“I have to tell you, my father was pretty disappointed in me. I spent a lot of money, I spent a lot of time to be a pro player,” Jaramillo said. “All of the sudden, I became a teacher.”

But he didn’t abandon the music. Jaramillo spent five years in Baldwin Park as a band director, before spending 21 years as the band director at Etiwanda High School.

“I just love it, because they are passionate, they now are beginning to find their identity: ‘I love my sports’ or ‘I love my arts’ or ‘I love my academics,’ ‘I’m a science person.’ When you start hearing it from them, you’re learning from this,” he said. “They taught me so much.”

But after 31 years as a band director, at an age when his peers began to think about retiring, Jaramillo instead changed gears and became an administrator.

“I was worried, personally, what’s my worth going to be?” Jaramillo said of the transition into administration. “Am I going to be the teacher at 35 that I was at age 55? So at age 50, I said ‘I’m going to apply for an assistant principal in our district, just to see what it’s like.’”

To his surprise, he got the job, landing at Alta Loma High as an assistant principal. With an unusual amount of classroom time for a principal, Jaramillo proved an effective administrator and, four years later, returned to Etiwanda High School as principal.

“The amazing thing about Mr. Jaramillo is that he was a legend in the band world, then started a whole new career track as an administrator, and had tremendous success with that as well,” Mathew Holton, superintendent of the Chaffey District, said in a news release.

“My blessing as a teacher, I had amazing administrators to work for,” Jaramillo recalled. “They treated me very well and I took those key components of their leadership, how trustworthy they were, and I just molded those all together.”

During his 37 years in education, Jaramillo has seen a lot change, but one thing that hasn’t are the students.

“They’re not any different,” he said. “Kids want to be loved. Kids want to be respected. Kids want to give respect. And kids certainly want to be challenged.”

But the challenges students face have grown more profound.

“We have homelessness, we have foster youth, we have students on the national free and reduced lunch program. There are many more things we have identified as communities that students struggle with. Because we’ve become more knowledgeable, we have to figure out how to infuse learning while dealing with this.”

But when school gets out on May 23, Jaramillo will be leaving it all behind.

“It just feels right,” he said. The school is in good shape, he said. He’s also in a sweet spot for his pension and he still has his health. “I left music the same way. Music was going very well; I didn’t have any problems. … It was just the right time.”

At last, Jaramillo will be able to focus back on his music once again. He’ll be giving private trumpet lessons as well as flying all over the United States to serve as a judge in band competitions.

And, of course, there’s one more fork in the career path that Jaramillo is going to take:

“I have been blessed with this voice, it has a distinctive sound,” he said, in a booming bass that would be as at home in a broadcast booth as it was on a high school campus.

At 62, the musician-turned-high school teacher-turned principal will be starting a new career, as a voice-over artist.

“If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. At least I can tell myself, ‘I tried.’”