What I Like to Do Outside of School
Surfing
Spending time with my family
Watching SportsCenter
Favorite Athletes
Tim Lincecum
Alex Gray
Joe Montana
Favorite Bands
Sublime
Paul Simon
Jack Johnson
Favorite Movies
Rudy
Point Break
The Sandlot
Favorite Books
Log from the Sea of Cortez
Islands in the Stream
Power of One
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Growing up
I was originally born in Whittier, but I grew up in a suburb of Sacramento. In high school, I played four years of football, three years of track and one year of volleyball. I was also on the speech and debate team and president of the Junior Statesmen of America. From high school, I went on to attend UC Davis where I earned a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. It was difficult to find a fun job in that field, so I started to substitute teach and coach football. I ended up teaching PE and science for two years at a high school in Citrus Heights. After living in the Sacramento Valley my whole life, I decided I needed a drastic change…
Marshall Islands
In 2004, I applied and was accepted to WorldTeach, a non-profit organization associated with the Center for International Development at Harvard University. I chose to go to the Marshall Islands. For the next year, I lived on a tiny atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. There was no electricity, running water, phones or internet, but there were 200 elementary school kids that wanted to learn English… sort of. While I spent most of my time spear fishing, sailing canoes and snorkeling, I learned a great deal about teaching and how important school administration is to student learning. The other thing that happened in the Marshall Islands is that I met my wife, Cristina. She was a fellow volunteer in WorldTeach and a Peninsula High School grad (there was only one high school at that time). At the end of our year in the Marshall Islands, we had to make a choice, Sacramento or PV…
Palos Verdes
When we returned to Palos Verdes, we both landed jobs in PVPUSD. She became an English teacher at Peninsula and I, a biology and chemistry teacher and football coach at PVHS. During that first year back, I began working on my administration credential and Masters through National University. It was the quickest way to get a pay raise. At the end of our first year teaching in PV, Cristina and I were married. Our son, Joe, was born nine months later. After teaching science for two years, I was fortunate enough to become the Dean of Students at PVHS. For the next four years, I worked as a Dean and Associate Principal overseeing and contributing to nearly every aspect of PVHS. Concurrently, I attended USC for three years to earn my Doctorate of Education. I wrote a 170 page dissertation on middle school math curriculum. Somewhere along the way, our second child, a daughter named Keiko, was born.
In April, 2011, it was announced that I would be the next principal of PVHS.
My Philosophy
The most important thing that happens in a school occurs in the interactions between teachers and students. Every other job in the school is to support that interaction. From custodians to principals, the school’s focus must be student learning. PVHS will provide students a place that they will not only learn, but they have the opportunity to pursue their passion. In the end, the values of integrity, kindness and work ethic are the ultimate character traits we strive to instill in our students. |
