La Cañada middle school principal named

Ryan Zerbel was named principal at La Cañada High School 7/8 on Tuesday night, replacing Anais Wenn.

In March, Wenn was named assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction of the La Cañada Unified School District. Both Wenn and Zerbel will undertake their new roles in July.

Wendy Sinnette, superintendent of schools, said the 39-year-old Zerbel was chosen after an exhaustive search. He has worked in education since 2000, most recently as assistant principal of Artesia High School in Lakewood, and came highly-recommended from his peers.

“On all fronts — students, teachers, everyone felt like he was somebody that they would wholeheartedly miss, but they couldn’t more highly recommend,” she said.

Zerbel, whose annual salary will be $112,690, told district officials during Tuesday’s meeting of the school board that he is excited to start his new role as the principal of a middle school that operates on the high school campus.

“I want to thank you for inviting me to be a part of the La Cañada family,” he said. “And I also want to say I cannot wait to begin work with the community, with the students, with the parents and the rest of the members of district to continue to make La Cañada a wonderful place for students to get a top-notch education.”

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