Pasadena : 7 New Principals Named

Schools Supt. Vera Vignes has named seven new principals and transferred several assistant principals.

Pasadena High School Assistant Principal Kathy Leslie has been promoted to principal at the district’s largest school. She replaces Judy Codding, who resigned last month to become deputy director of the Washington-based National Alliance for Restructuring Education.

Leslie’s position will be filled by Luis Hernandez, director of the at-risk student program at Whittier High School.

At Blair High, John Herrara will replace David Banis as principal. Banis has been the district’s director of secondary education since March. Herrara was a Pomona high school assistant principal.

Vignes, who took over the district last September, said the moves took into consideration the need for new talent that is balanced ethnically and by gender.

She said the new administrators will implement a plan to reform the district that is expected to be completed in the fall.

The other new principals and assistant principals who were named last week: Eddie Newman, an assistant principal at John Muir High, has taken over Wilson Middle School. Caroline Bermudez, a teacher at a middle school in Pico Rivera, will be assistant principal at Wilson.

Sterling Williams, assistant principal at Wilson, assumed Newman’s position at Muir.

At Longfellow Elementary, Karen Lefever, an administrator with the Glendale school district who speaks Armenian, has taken over from Isaac Hammond, who was named Noyes Elementary principal.

At Altadena Elementary, Brenda Ross, an administrator from Long Beach Unified, is the new principal. Principal Carolyn Hoyt returns to the classroom.

At Hamilton Elementary, Elyse Sullivan has been named principal. She is a former director of district’s tutoring program.

At Washington Middle, Karen Kommer, principal of a La Mirada school, was named assistant principal, while assistant principals at Muir and Marshall Fundamental will change places. Thelma Reyna of Marshall has swapped positions with Muir’s Kenneth Montoya.

Three principals have been reassigned to district headquarters at their $50,000-$70,000 salaries. Maxima Cirunay of Noyes Elementary has been assigned to a special project, Larry Raymond of Hamilton Elementary has become head of continuing education and youth opportunities, and Francis Powell of Woodrow Wilson Middle School is responsible for grant writing.