3 NEW DEANS TO AID EASTSIDE TEACHERS ADMINISTRATORS WILL GRADE CLASSROOM PERFORMANCE, HELP IT IMPROVE.

Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO

Staff Writer

LANCASTER -- The Eastside Union School District has created three administrative positions at its elementary schools to help boost student achievement.

The deans of instruction at Columbia, Eastside and Tierra Bonita elementary schools will aid principals to improve teacher instruction and oversee the schools' growing enrollments.

"What we are trying to do is bring in assistance for the principals and, hopefully, with the additional help, they will be able to continue to focus on our No.1 goal, which is raising student achievement," Superintendent Roberto Villa said.

At Columbia, Tammie Hollis-Jackson is the dean of instruction. She previously worked as an assistant principal at Glendale High School.

For Eastside, the dean of instruction is Melody Schuman, a district teacher who served as acting principal for the last half of the school year at the school.

Margo Deal, a teacher and former assistant principal at Cole Middle School, is the dean at Tierra Bonita.

The instructional deans and principals will spend more time in classrooms to observe teachers and give feedback to staff.

"As I've told the principals, teaching and learning doesn't happen in the principal's office. It happens in the classroom," Villa said. "If they are not out there to give feedback on what the teachers are doing, how do they know how well they are doing? The premise is having additional support to help guide instruction."

Columbia has more than 700 students, Eastside has about 900 students, and Tierra Bonita's student population stands at about 810.

"It's just a lot of staff and children to supervise, and we are at a point where, with our status as a program-improvement district, we need more focus on improving the instructional program," Villa added. "It's a tremendous challenge for two people, let alone one."

In other administrative changes, Matt Ross, former assistant principal in the Mojave Unified School District, will be the principal at Cole Middle School. He replaces Yvonne Casias-Young, whom trustees dismissed in March, Villa said.

New assistant principals at Cole are Christa Waldvogel, who was an assistant principal in the Glendale Unified School District, and LaRonda Ortega, who was with the Inglewood Unified School District.

Eastside Elementary's new principal is Troy Cox, former principal at Rosamond High School.

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