About

"Walnut Grove Intermediate School empowers students to lead successful lives by providing opportunities to develop academic, social, and emotional maturity."

To Our Hawk Families,                                                                     

It is my absolute privilege and honor to serve you and your children as Walnut Grove’s new principal! I am whole-heartedly excited to lead this incredible school that is so committed to serving every student, every day. I know this is a school rich in its culture and traditions with a simultaneous focus on learning and growing to ensure we provide the highest quality instruction and education for our 7th and 8th grade Hawks. I look forward to honoring and preserving everything that we already do so well here at Walnut Grove! 

I come to you as I start my 18th year in public education. I spent nine years teaching at the elementary and middle school levels within Monrovia Unified and Arcadia Unified. I stepped out of the classroom to serve as a Common Core Instructional Coach for two elementary schools and a middle school in Arcadia. I then served at the high school level as a full-time Activities Director at Arcadia High School, where I come to you from, having served most recently as an Assistant Principal for the past five years. 

I am a UC Irvine, Pepperdine, and USC alumni (Fight On!), having earned my bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees from these universities, respectively. I’m a proud daughter of immigrants from India and my family means everything to me! I believe in fostering strong relationships within our community and I very much look forward to connecting with and getting to know each of our 7th and 8th grade Hawks and each of you! 

It is of utmost importance to me to ensure that I support our instructional staff, so that they are best equipped to support our students. I’m committed to working my hardest to ensure that our students, families, and staff feel connected and valued so that everyone may flourish in our school community. 

Again, I am wholly honored to serve you as Walnut Grove’s new principal and look forward to meeting each of you soon. May the last few weeks of summer vacation be filled with joyous moments with your children! 

With Excitement,

Bhavini Bhakta, Ed.D. 

Principal, Walnut Grove Intermediate School

West Covina Unified School District 

bbhakta@wcusd.org