He’s Captain of the Education Team

For Paul S. Mercier, superintendent of Anaheim’s Magnolia School District, education is all about teamwork. He brought that message with him to the district eight years ago and has helped train administrators throughout the county to work in leadership teams.

His efforts were recognized recently by the California School Leadership Academy, which selected him for a merit award presented in San Francisco at a state convocation.

Mercier, 55, was one of 12 administrators throughout the state to receive the award for leadership and commitment to ensuring educational excellence.

“I was honored to have been selected from this area,” said Mercier, who was assistant superintendent in the Ocean View School District in Huntington Beach and spent three years as co-director of a leadership training program before joining the news,14p3

Magnolia district.

There, he reorganized the administration to focus on continuous school improvement. Two former principals oversee the effort and two teachers on special assignment work with other teachers on better ways to instruct.

The district is reaching out to its high percentage of second-language learners before they start school. Parent and child programs for pre-kindergartners are being formed, Mercier said.

“We want every student to be successful,” he said. “If we come from that, we take on our responsibilities differently.”

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To be considered for this column, please send information on the Orange County person being honored along with a photograph to Lynn O’Dell, The Times’ Orange County edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626. (714) 283-5685.