ANAHEIM : School Seeks to Hire Bilingual Principal

Rio Vista Elementary School is seeking a bilingual principal to replace John McClanahan, who was reassigned to another school within the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified District.

With 70% of its students speaking Spanish, Rio Vista needs a principal who can speak directly to children and parents in their native language, said Tim Van Eck, assistant superintendent for personnel.

“Although the assistant principal at Rio Vista is bilingual, the chief educational officer at the school should be able to communicate with parents and be culturally sensitive,” Van Eck said.

Currently, when a Spanish-speaking parent has a conference with the principal, a bilingual teacher is usually pulled out of the classroom to interpret. This not only disrupts the class, but also hinders communication between the parents and the principal, school officials say.

The new principal will be one of three bilingual elementary school principals in the Placentia-Yorba Linda district. The two others, Judy Glick at Wagner Elementary in Placentia and Randi Tronz at Travis Ranch Elementary in Yorba Linda, are assigned to schools that have fewer Spanish-speaking students than Rio Vista, but Van Eck said they are not due to be reassigned.

Under district policy, principals rotate positions every five to eight years. Hiring a bilingual principal will enable the district to assign Spanish-speaking teachers to the schools where they would be most needed, Van Eck said.

McClanahan, who was at Rio Vista for six years, will move to Golden Avenue Elementary School in Placentia. Ann Test, who was principal at Golden for six years, will move to Linda Vista Elementary School in Yorba Linda to take the place of its retiring principal, Earl Pratt.

Van Eck said he expects to have a list of three or four candidates by the end of July and will probably announce a finalist by the end of August.