Martin to leave school district

Danette Goulet

NEWPORT-MESA -- Less than two months after leaving the top job at

Corona del Mar High School for a spot in the district office, Don Martin

has decided to leave Newport-Mesa altogether.

Martin is leaving Southern California and its beaches for the

vineyards of Northern California. He has taken a position in the St.

Helena Unified School District as the director of curriculum and

instruction.

And he’s doing it soon -- by the end of the month.

“I’ll be doing a larger job on a smaller scale,” he said. “I’m

basically the only guy in the instruction department. The good news is

there are only 85 teachers and four principals. In fact, there are only

like five people in the district office. It’s small, but I like that.”

Martin likened his new position’s duties to those of Jaime

Castellanos, Newport-Mesa’s assistant superintendent of secondary

education; Susan Despenas, assistant superintendent of elementary

education; and Peggy Anatol, director of curriculum and assessment -- all

rolled into one.

The district’s 2,000 students attend the town’s two elementary

schools, one middle school or only high school.

“It’s a real small town,” Martin said of St. Helena, which is nestled

in the Napa Valley. “It looks like you’ve stepped back in time to the

1890s.”

Martin said he also looks forward to the hands-on approach he will be

able to take in such a small community.

Martin served in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District as principal

of Corona del Mar High, where he served for seven years before making a

move to the district office at the end of January.

The new position Martin was in was a trial one for both the district

and Martin. He was helping to align the high school curriculum with new

state standards, preparing students and staff for the new high school

exit exams and juggling a slew of other duties.

District officials hope to fill the position Martin will vacate March

29, at least for the remainder of the year, Castellanos said.

“I’m sad. He’s done a great job for us in the short time he’s been” at

the district office, Castellanos said.

A national search to find a new principal for Corona del Mar High,

where retired Principal Gary Norton has been filling in, will start

immediately, Supt. Robert Barbot said.