Liz Atkinson

Liz Atkinson is the founder for NEU in the IE (Inland Empire) for the No Excuses University network. In the San Bernardino City Unified School District in southern California, Liz was the principal of the first NEU school in that district where she spearheaded her ‘Vermont Parent University’ program. In its inaugural year, VPU graduated 120 parents. Her second school in SBCUSD, Del Rosa Elementary was also accepted in to the NEU network. Now in Lake Elsinore Unified School District, Liz brought her current school, Cottonwood Canyon Elementary, in to the network and is the first principal with three NEU schools under her belt. Liz has over twenty-five years of experience in K-12 education as a bilingual teacher, coach, mentor and principal. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Purdue University and her Master’s in Education Administration from National University. Liz is passionate about college readiness for all and believes in eliminating a toxic culture on campus as the key to creating a culture of universal achievement. She lives in southern California with her husband and two children.