Ron Garrett named Poway High principal

(Story updated on June 12)

Abraxas High School Principal Ron Garrett will become principal at Poway High School pending school board approval on June 24.

Garrett will replace retiring PHS Principal Scott Fisher.

His is one of 10 recommendations of principals that have been forwarded by Poway Unified School District Supt. John Collins. Other Poway schools getting new principals include Chaparral and Pomerado elementary schools and Abraxas.

Garrett has been at Abraxas, the PUSD’s continuation high school, for one year. Dave MacLeod, the current vice principal at Abraxas, will take over there. He has been at the school for six years.

Prior to his Abraxas assignment, Garrett had been an assistant principal at Mt. Carmel High School since 2002. Prior to coming to Mt. Carmel High School, he was a science teacher at Poway High School from 1993 to 2000, where he was one of the founding teachers on the Interdisciplinary Team, which works to improve freshman transition. He was also a member of the Poway High governance body and a Poway High Foundation board member. In 1999 – 2000, Garrett earned National Board Certification in Science from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards.

Prior to becoming assistant principal, he worked as an attendance coordinator at Mt. Carmel. In his time at the school, he has also led the Grade Level Team in developing academic coaching to help students set goals and improve their academic progress, as well as developing an Intervention Team to assist at-risk students, using data-based interventions and one-to-one mentors.

Garrett, who lives Rancho Peñasquitos with his wife and two children, received a Bachelor of Science degree in geology from State University of New York at Stony Brook. He did post graduate work in school administration at the University of Houston, and a received a Master of Science degree and administration credential from National University, San Diego.

Recommended to take over at Chaparral is Robin Robinson, who for the past eight years has been the principal at Creekside Elementary. Prior to that she spent 22 years as a teacher in the district and as the assistant principal at Chaparral and at Westview High.

At Pomerado, Collins is recommending the hiring of Luis Ortiz, an assistant principal at Tovashal Elementary School in Murrieta. He is also a national faculty member of the Josephson Institute of Ethics, Character Counts! and has conducted training in character development since 2007.

Other recommendations include:

• Mt. Carmel High — Greg Magno, the current principal at Black Mountain Middle School. He returns to Mt. Carmel, where he served as an assistant principal for seven years.

• Black Mountain Middle - Charan Kirpilani, the current assistant principal at Westview High. He also spent three years as the assistant principal at Twin Peaks.

• Creekside Elementary - Christine Donnelly, since 2010 an assistant principal at Meadowbrook Middle School. She also served on special assignment for the After School Education and Safety Program for six years. She previously taught at Meadowbrook.

• Highland Ranch Elementary - Cindy Venolia, principal since 2007 at Stone Ranch Elementary. Prior to that she was an assistant principal at Park Village.

• Stone Ranch Elementary - Lisa Danzer, principal at Pomerado since 2002. Hired as a teacher by the district in 1987, she previously served as an assistant principal at Meadowbrook Middle School.

• Willow Grove Elementary - Amy Huff, the assistant principal, who has been on the school’s leadership team since it opened in 2008. She was charged with professional learning for the school’s staff. She has also taught at Willow Grove, Adobe Bluffs and Westwood elementary schools.