Educator Named State Principal of Year

Howard Lappin, credited with turning around one of the worst-performing schools in Los Angeles, has been named California Principal of the Year and is a nominee for an award acknowledging the top principal in the country.

Lappin, a resident of Northridge for 28 years, is principal of the Foshay Learning Center in South-Central Los Angeles. Since taking charge of the inner-city school in 1989, Lappin has overseen a transformation at Foshay in which test scores have soared, absenteeism has plummeted and the dropout rate has fallen to less than 1%.

Gov. Pete Wilson is expected to tour the school in November to highlight some its programs and to honor Lappin, said Carol Tucker, a spokeswoman for the USC news service. Foshay is one of five schools that the university assists with grants, as well as student, faculty and staff resources.

After being named California Principal of the Year by the Assn. of California School Administrators in August, Lappin became eligible for the National Principal of the Year award, which will be announced in February.

“This is a big deal,” said Lappin, who was quick to share the credit with his teachers and students. “It’s always hard to brag about yourself, but as long as the achievement of the school is the focus I feel good about it.”

Lappin, 57, began his teaching career at San Fernando High School in 1962. He taught there for six years before going to Van Nuys High School, where he served as a teacher and dean from 1968 to 1975.

Following his successes at Foshay, he was selected as the Reader’s Digest “Hero in American Education” in May 1996.