A new school year starts for Glendale Unified
Lena Kortoshian, only the second principal in the history of Clark Magnet High School, greeted students on their first day of school on Monday as more than 25,000 students began the new school year throughout Glendale Unified.
She follows in the footsteps of founding Principal Doug Dall, who announced his resignation last spring after 18 years as the school’s principal.
Clark Magnet is known for both its academically-talented students and robotics programs.
Kortoshian, who was previously an assistant principal and later an associate principal at Clark, starting in 2011, said she is looking forward to building on the school’s foundation.
“Our vision is to successfully meet district goals with high academic achievement, and at the same time, nurture a culture of happy, motivated and successful young adults who feel connected to their school and community,” she said in an email.
Meanwhile, at Glendale High, Benjamin Wolf began his new role as principal as he welcomed students, just days after he started in the position last Thursday.
He replaces former Glendale High principal Monica Makiewicz, who is now director of secondary services at the Covina-Valley Unified School District, where Glendale Unified’s former Supt. Dick Sheehan is the top chief.
Wolf comes to Glendale High from Orange County, where he most recently served as principal of South Junior High School in the Anaheim Union High School District, said Maria Gandera, assistant superintendent of human resources for Glendale Unified.
Wolf has also worked as principal of Orange County School of the Arts.
As a proponent of the arts, a strong instructional leader and a supporter of athletics, “we thought he would be the best fit to be the principal [at Glendale High],” Gandera said.
It’s also the first beginning of a local school year for new Glendale Unified Supt. Winfred Roberson Jr., who stepped into his leading educational role last April.
He said the first day of school was a success.
“I’m very proud of the summer preparation work by our maintenance, custodial and clerical teams that ushered in a smooth first day of school for our returning teachers, students and their families,” he said.
He’s said he’s looking forward to expanding awareness of the school district’s Local Control Accountability Plan — the set of goals to which school officials commit each year with state funding to address local educational needs.
Roberson said he will also work to build a culture of “caring, trust and inquiry.”
Last week, Roberson attended an event packed with teachers at Glendale High School as part of an effort to rally educators just days before the new school year began.
Also attending that event was Gandera, who said local teachers expressed excitement about returning to the classroom.
“Schools, during the summer, when there are no kids, feel empty. The excitement is back in our life,” she said.
