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New Poway Unified School District principals announced

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Several Poway Unified School District schools will see the new school year beginning with new leadership.

One of the biggest changes will be at Midland Elementary School, which was plagued with discord in the 2014-15 school year over its first-year principal, Tracy Liu. Several parent volunteers vented at a school board meeting in February, asking for help to resolve differences between the volunteers and the Midland Elementary administration.

According to Jessica Wakefield, district spokeswoman, Liu has taken a position with the county Office of Education.

Midland’s new principal will be Sidia Santos Martinez.

Santos Martinez comes to the Poway Unified School District from the Perris Elementary School District, where she has been for five years. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Education from California State University San Marcos and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from San Diego State University.

This isn’t Santos Martinez’s first time in the Poway Unified School District; she had previously served as an assistant principal and a dual language teacher at Valley Elementary School.

Shoal Creek Elementary School Principal Libby Keller is moving to Rolling Hills Elementary School. Shoal Creek will now be led by former Adobe Bluffs Elementary School Principal Mark Atkins.

Westwood Elementary School will also have a new principal in the new school year, Kaleb Rashad.

Rashad is currently an elementary school principal in the Val Verde Unified School District, a position he has held since 2011. He holds an doctorate in educational leadership, a master’s degree in educational administration, and a master’s degree in education. He has also served as an assistant principal at Twin Peaks and Oak Valley middle schools in the Poway Unified School District and as a teacher in Moreno Valley. He is a retired U.S. Marine.

Valley Elementary School will also be getting a new principal in Ricardo Cecena, who will move over from Park Village Elementary School. The school’s former principal, Andrew Johnsen, has taken a new position outside of the district.

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