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.
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