Describe what you did before you were a principal and how do those roles connect to this one?

“I started at Oxnard High School in the fall of 1996. Then I stayed here for 20 years. I was a classroom teacher [here] for 18 years, then a dean here for one year. There was an opening at Pacifica High School as a principal, and I stayed there for 5 years. I then tried being an assistant superintendent, but it didn’t work out because I don’t like life away from my high school campus. I then left that role to come here and it was a perfect fit for me. It felt like I was coming home.”

Why did you want to come back to Oxnard instead of staying at Pacifica?

“As I said before, this is home for me. I came here when I was a young man, 24 years old. This was my first job in public education. And then I stayed for 20 years and as you know when you’re at Oxnard High School, you fall in love with the place. So, Pacifica was an opportunity for me to learn and grow and develop in my profession and learn how to be a principal. But when this opportunity came up, it was like, “Wow, amazing.” It was when I was a young guy in my 20s I always dreamed of being the principal here. So it was me fulfilling the opportunity to have my dream job and to quote ‘go home’ in many ways.”

Describe your life outside of school.

As a 52 year old, it’s not as exciting as what some of my younger friends do, but I spend a ton of time, as much as I can, with my family. I do have a wonderful wife and two awesome kids. I’m all about family. And then the other bulk of my time when I’m not at school or with my family, I’m working on my doctoral degree which I’ll finish in less than a year from Purdue University.

What new policies have you put in place and how have you placed them? 

“I rely on teacher leaders to help me run the place. A good leader likes to do what we call build leadership capacity. If you just say ‘I’m in charge, I’m a tyrant. I do everything,’ It’s going to be your vision. nobody’s going to buy into it. you’re not going to achieve success. One thing I did is I restructured the leadership team this summer to get more voices to key teachers, department chairs, activities director, athletic director, and people who I just felt could make a positive impact on our campus. They all have a voice in decision making now, which is different from outdated leadership team models that were used 20 years ago. Another thing that we addressed was the way we build our master schedule. A major complaint when I got here this summer is that on this four by four block schedule that everybody’s out of class and the campus is always crazy, which you may or may not have experienced last year. We then got rid of period two and period three dismissals. So now everybody shows up at eight and goes home at 2 or shows up at 10 and goes home at 3:30. We redid that and that’s brought a lot of peace to the campus. There are very few students in the quad period one and period four who either have to get here early or can’t go home early. The campus is dead and quiet periods two and three, which is the way we like it. The other change I’ve tried to make this year which I’ve received a lot of positive feedback on: I’m huge on student voice. I believe that students are not to be told what to do, but we need to ask them for their opinions and give them voice. So I’m actually doing my doctoral dissertation on the power of student voice and how it is very powerful and developing young minds who can positively change the world. So I made a big commitment through social media, through my Principal’s Advisory Committee, through ASB Live to connect with the students and make sure I know who they are. They know who I am and that I respect their voice and want their input. I don’t want them to sit back and take orders. I want them to speak their minds and be an advocate for their own education, and that’s what makes Oxnard High School great. There’s a ton of things but those would be my major three.”

What is your favorite animal? Why?

“I absolutely love dogs. I have two rescue dogs that are complete and utter mutts. I have always found that mutts are way more enjoyable and just much better dogs with better personalities than purebreds, no offense to purebreds. I’ve had purebred Boxers and AKC type dogs, but my dogs are always the most loyal creatures on the face of this earth. If I’ve had a good day or a horrible day, they’re always there at the door ready to jump into my lap and just treat me with love and affection.”

What is your favorite-colored sunset and why?

“I think when it’s when they’re the most colors blended together possible, when you see when it has kind of the the smeared look of pink and orange and red when it’s just when it’s extraordinary that your average sunset doesn’t excite me. But when I see a sunset like that it, it’s like wow, that’s gonna make me take my camera out. That is Instagram worthy.”

Do you believe aliens are real? Why?

“I actually do believe because I live in Moorpark. And there are many, many nights when I see UFOs and I’m not crazy. I checked the FAA website and there are always things that look much like UFOs flying over Moorpark, California. So if they’re not UFOs I don’t know what they are, but enough UFO activity or what looks like UFO activity to make me a believer. There is someone besides us out there.”

Is there anything else you’d like people to know about you?

“I would say that people always ask me what else I have in store for my educational career and I tell them that this is the last stop. That’s what I want people to know. I’m 52 years old. I’ll retire at 62. So I will be at Oxnard High School for 10 more years and then enjoy the beauties of retirement. This is my final spot in my educational journey, and I couldn’t find a better place to end my career. Back at the place where I started my career.”