Jose Paul Corona Students aren’t the only...

Jose Paul Corona

Students aren’t the only ones that are looking forward to a new

school year.

Cynthia Clark and Stephen Roderick can’t wait for school to start.

And if students just starting elementary, middle and high school

are nervous, imagine the nerves on your first day as principal.

Clark will step into the role recently vacated by Brian Garland as

principal of Edison High School. While the thought of taking over

for a beloved teacher and administrator might intimidate some, Clark

doesn’t even give it a second thought.

“I’m not replacing him, I’m succeeding him,” she said.

Roderick is taking over for Carol Osbrink as principal at Marina

High School. Osbrink left to become the district’s assistant

superintendent of educational services.

Roderick eventually plans on making improvements when necessary,

but for the most part he plans on simply watching and learning.

“I’m not focusing my energy on any one thing,” he said. “I really

want to observe, watch what’s going on, ask a lot of questions and

get to know as many people as I can and get to know the programs as

quickly as possible.”

While their new positions may be intimidating, the administrators

say they have felt warmly welcomed.

Roderick is also grateful to have a capable staff.

“It’s a very fine school, I have some very good support people who

have helped in my transition,” he said.

Like their new staffs, both principals have plenty of experience.

Clark was most recently the principal at Soquel High School in

Santa Cruz. She served in that post for the past four years and

before that she was an assistant principal in the Upland School

District. She worked there for 10 years.

Roderick most recently served as an assistant principal at

Fullerton Union High School. He worked in the Fullerton Joint Union

High School District for the past 13 years and is ready to apply his

experience to Marina High School, he said.

Casey and Roderick are just two of the new administrators in the

Huntington Beach Union High School District. There are 45 other new

employees.

Huntington Beach High School has hired 13 new teachers, Westminster High School has three new teachers, Marina High School

has nine new teachers, Edison High School has eight new teachers,

Ocean View High School has seven new teachers and Fountain Valley

High School has hired five new teachers.

School district officials said there are also a few more additions

in the works and a full list will be available soon.