Macias takes helm of Luther Burbank Middle School

Monday may have just been another school day for 1,100 students at Luther Burbank Middle School, but for Oscar Macias, it was his first full day taking the helm of the campus as principal.

His new role, announced earlier this month by school officials, comes after Luther’s former principal, Brian O’Rourke, was appointed as the district’s director of student and safety services.

Macias was the top choice for the job after school officials selected him out of 14 candidates who applied.

Since 2007, he’s served as an administrator at John Burroughs High, and seven years prior to that, he began teaching math at Burbank’s Community Day School for at-risk youth.

Macias said he knew he wanted to become an educator while in college, when he was working at a Los Angeles middle school and the school’s principal told him he had a natural way with kids.

“I would stick around a lot longer than my paid hours,” he said, and ultimately he’d spend that extra time tutoring kids after school.

“They say everything happens for a reason; I’m completely a believer in that and passionate about education and students’ learning and teachers’ great instruction,” he said. “I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

School board member Larry Applebaum recalled visiting Macias’ math class at Community Day School shortly after elected to the board. He remembered “seeing something special in the way that you related to those kids,” he told Macias at a recent meeting.

After spending many years teaching at the high-school level, Macias begins his role at Luther Middle School focused on preparing the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders for what they will face in high school.

“What I’ve seen, so far, Luther has its own rich tradition of academic success. I’m happy to be a part of it and be a resource to teachers, students and families. It’s an exciting opportunity,” he said.