RSS Feed
|
||||||||||
|
New faces in new places
Many new teachers, administrators and coaches graced campuses throughout Simi Valley Unified School District. Shayna Ledesma, Royal High School's activities director; Lindsay White, Simi Valley High teacher and girls' basketball coach; and Sara Davis, Hillside Middle School principal, were three of them. Shayna Ledesma Before arriving at Royal on Aug. 14, Ledesma taught math and science at Culver City High School and Culver City Middle School for eight years. Although she enjoyed teaching, the Princeton graduate wanted a job where she could interact even more with students. Ledesma, whose parents live in Camarillo, saw the Royal opening on an education jobs website. "I didn't know this type of job existed," she said. "I thought it was cool. This seems like a great opportunity." As activities director, Ledesma, 33, is in charge of overseeing the Highlanders' athletic teams and more than 40 student clubs. She will also teach one ASB (Associated Student Body) class a day while coordinating student events.
Since this is her first administration job—she didn't have much interest in becoming an assistant principal and "disciplining students"—Ledesma admitted she's still learning on the fly. "It just seems like there are so many different things to coordinate every day," she said. "I'm still learning a lot of it." Ledesma grew up in Culver City but graduated from Brentwood High in 1993. She studied biology and was part of the crew and water polo teams at Princeton, graduating in 1997. She earned a master's in education from Pepperdine in 2005 and has coached swimming, girls' soccer and club rowing teams.
"I'm excited to be here," Ledesma said. "So far, so good." Lindsay White Another Pioneer alum is back at Simi Valley High School. White grew up one block away from the campus and graduated from SVHS in 2004. The 22year-old returns as a ninth-grade science teacher and varsity girls' basketball coach. "I'm excited about everything," she said on Tuesday, the eve of her first day as a teacher. "I'm excited about being surrounded by kids starting high school and getting ready to learn." The Simi Valley native actually began her hoops coaching career last year at Laguna Blanca School in Santa Barbara. Expected to help out as an assistant, White, who's now living in Moorpark, was thrust into the head coaching role just before the season started. "I'd have to say it was a pretty good experience," she said. "The school and parents were very, very supportive." That trial by fire should serve White well, since the Pioneers finished 9-17 last year. Fortunately, eight of the 11 varsity players will be seniors, and that veteran group should help White acclimate. The coach began working with the Simi Valley players the last week of June. She got their attention quickly when they noticed her name on the gym wall: White was a secondteam AllMarmonte League player as a senior shooting guard. A recent graduate of UC Santa Barbara with a major in biopsychology and a minor in athletic coaching, White is working on completing her teaching credential. "It's really been amazing," she said. "Everyone's been really welcoming. The girls are excited that an alumna is coaching them. A couple of my players unexpectedly helped me set up my classroom. They were a great help. A lot of my colleagues are teachers I had, and it's great that they are getting to know me on a little different level. They like to see their students succeed. "I'm excited to be here, it's a great opportunity and obviously, I'm putting my heart into it, like I do with anything," White said. Sara Davis Davis' first year at the helm of Hillside Middle School marks a homecoming of sorts for the longtime educator. After working in Simi Valley Unified School District from 1980 to 2000, primarily as a counselor, Davis served as principal at Monte Vista Middle School in Pleasant Valley School District. "I'm very excited to be back in Simi Valley," she said. "I had been at Monte Vista for eight years and it's a tremendous school. . . . I still have friends and colleagues that work here. The timing just seemed right to make a change." Davis started as a counselor and a teacher in the independent study program at the Simi Valley Adult School in 1980. From 1984 to 1987, she was a counselor at Apollo High and a counselor, an assistant principal and an interim principal at Royal from 1987 to 2000. The Camarillo resident has also worked as a teacher in Oxnard Union High School District and has worked for the Los Angeles and Las Virgenes school districts as well. "I'm excited about meeting my staff and I'm excited meeting parents and kids and getting to reacquaint myself with the community," Davis said last week. July 25 marked her first official day on the job. Davis, who doesn't plan on making any drastic changes at Hillside, is gradually learning how the school operates.
"As people come in, I'm just asking a lot of questions and it's important, as an administrator, to sit back and watch the practices that are already in place," she said. "I'm really just trying to acclimate myself right now. . . . Anytime you enter a new position, there are always land mines. I'm trying to learn what those are. Having been a principal for eight years is extremely helpful. While the faces are different, a lot of the concerns, issues, problems and situations are identical." |
for larger version       |
|||||||||
)
)
)