4 EDCAL October 1 , 2018

Huntington Beach City School District has a number of announcements regarding their leadership team . Forest Holbrook has been selected to serve as the principal at Moffett Elementary School having served for three years as assistant principal at Sowers Middle School . Preetom Bhattacharya will be moving to the assistant principal role at Sowers Middle School from his work as the district coordinator of EL , Title 1 , and Special Programs . Alisha Tardiff is transitioning to serve as a program specialist for Special Education from several years as assistant principal at Sowers Middle School . Adam Knutson is joining the HBCSD team as an assistant principal at Sowers from his recent service as assistant principal in the Perris Union High School District . And , Jeannette Martinez has been selected to serve as the coordinator of EL , Title 1 , and Special Programs in Huntington Beach City after serving in multiple leadership and teaching roles , most

recently in the San Bernardino City School District .

n n n

Selma USD Superintendent Tanya Fisher is pleased to announce the district ’ s newest administrative and management team members . Davinder Sidhu has been named assistant superintendent , Educational Services . Diane Gischel- Lingo has been named coordinator , Special Education / Student Supports . Sandra Aguilera was appointed coordinator , Assessments / MTSS . Guillermo Lopez has been named as principal at Selma High School and Antonio Rivera as principal at Abraham Lincoln Middle School . Michelle Salcido was named interim principal , and Diana Parker as interim program manager , both at Eric White Elementary School . Chad Morton was appointed program manager at Indianola Elementary School and Vincent Evans was named supervisor of Transportation .

n n n

Lancaster School District has a number

of new positions to announce . Rebecca Cooksey was promoted to assistant superintendent of Innovation and Technology ; Ruby Thompson was promoted to director of Budget and Accounting ; Jane D ’ Anna will be the new director of LAVA and Home Education ; Dustin Gates was promoted to supervisor of Operations ; Brian Clark is the new principal of Piute Middle School ; Erie Robinson was promoted to principal of John and Jacquelyn Miller Elementary School ; Cindy Queen was promoted to principal of Discovery Elementary School ; Charles Coleman is the new principal of Jack Northrup Elementary School ; Eric Gold and Melissa Wood join the ranks as assistant principals at Endeavor Middle School ; Jennifer Sampson was promoted to coordinator of Pupil Safety and Attendance ; Elizabeth Lobos was promoted to assistant principal at Lincoln Elementary School ; and Mike Davis was promoted to director of Certificated Personnel .

n n n

Lompoc USD issued the following job announcements . Ryan Johnson , has been named director of Information Technology

and Tisha Quam has been named coordinator , Special Education . Julie Turk was named principal of Fillmore Elementary , Isidro Carrasco , principal of Cabrillo High School , and Alicia Ropeter , assistant principal of Lompoc High School . The district also announced that Tina Wall was named coordinator , Education Services ; Candice Grossi was named assistant principal of Lompoc Valley Middle School ; Christine Nagel was named principal of Crestview Elementary ; Barbara Courain was named assistant principal of Vandenberg Middle School ; Eric Trigueiro was named principal of Bob Forinash Community Day School ; Elaine Webber was named academic dean of Lompoc Adult School and Career Center ; and Agnes Asiedu-Kumi was named principal of Buena Vista Elementary .

n n n

Send ACSA-member news for Transitions to EdCal Editor Cary Rodda at crodda @ acsa . org .

Continued from page 1

somebody cares about them . Asks them how their day is . And I find that that ’ s what we do here . And I feel that ’ s what makes a difference .”

Jessica Corona transferred to Goodwill Education Center after struggling both academically and socially in middle school .

“ I was always the one to goof around ,” Jessica said . “ I wasn ’ t really taking school seriously until 11th grade .”

In November 2016 , Jessica ’ s mother was diagnosed with urinary system cancer . Jessica made the decision to change her ways and get back on track with her schoolwork .

“ When she was diagnosed with cancer , I dropped everything ,” Jessica said . “ I stopped playing around . I made a promise to her

that I would graduate early . I came to school on time . I did my work .”

Goodwill Education Center Principal Kevan Loyd quickly noticed Jessica ’ s newfound commitment to education with her mother ’ s wishes at the forefront of her mind .

“ I think that was a turning point for her ,” Loyd said . “ She realized that there ’ s something more important than actually being a social butterfly here at school . She wants to graduate and do bigger and better things because she wanted to take care of her mother .”

But on October 9 , 2017 , Jessica ’ s mother lost her battle with cancer . It ’ s a loss Jessica still feels every day .

“ It ’ s like losing another piece of me ,” Jessica said . “ I cry at night sometimes . I have difficult days where I don ’ t want to get up . I don ’ t want to do anything . I don ’ t want to talk to anybody . I want to shut everyone

out .”

It would have been easy for Jessica to regress after her mother ’ s death . But the community at Goodwill Education Center stepped up and provided support .

“ We all have a part ,” Walsh-Martin said . “ And basically , it ’ s cheerleading . It ’ s kicking them in the butt and saying ‘ Come on . Let ’ s go .’ But we are family here . And with us being family , we surround .”

In May 2018 , Jessica fulfilled her promise to her mother by graduating from Goodwill High .

“ After all she ’ s overcome , the behavioral issues at the other high school , her mom passing , she still had the drive to graduate from high school ,” Loyd said . “ That was the greatest thing she could have done for me is to actually graduate .”

It ’ s been quite a transformation for Jessica Corona . From a challenging student trying to find her way to high school gradu-

ate , Jessica is looking ahead to the future . But she ’ ll always have her mother in her thoughts .

“ I think Jessica now is a person who understands grit ,” Goodwill Education Center Dean of Students Benisha Carr said . “ How to persevere . And she knows that if she puts her mind to anything , she can achieve . I think her mom is looking down on her and is extremely proud of the wonderful young lady her daughter has become .”

ACSA ’ s Every Student Succeeding Awards program includes our 19-part video series leading up to the ESS luncheon at the 2018 Leadership Summit . Watch the videos on these remarkable recipients at Facebook , YouTube and www . acsa . org .