By Bari Cohn
News Editor
Mira Costa’s administration has hired four new teachers and eight new staff members for the 2016-17 school year.
Many employees decided to take a retirement package as a result of the plan at the end of last year, resulting in 12 vacant positions. The administration has hired these new employees to fill the positions and to continue to expand and improve the quality of the programs at Mira Costa, Manhattan Beach Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Michael Matthews said.
“What I am looking for when hiring is someone who has a passion for growth,” Costa Principal Dr. Ben Dale said. “The more passion, the more likely they are to be hired because we can put them with our other teachers and then the growth potential is exponential.”
Two out of the four new teachers at Costa, James Locke and Lindsey Valbuena, are former science and English teachers, respectively, at Manhattan Beach Middle School. Additionally, the former water polo coach for the Costa teams, Dave Halushka, is now a full-time special education teacher. The fourth teacher, Jarrod Parra, is new to the district and will be working in the Science Department.
“I loved working at the middle school, and I was very happy with my job there,” Locke said. “Moving to Costa was a chance to take an opportunity and try something new and different. Once the offer came up, I decided it was something I needed to do.”
Costa hired Elizabeth Rieken as the newest counselor in the College and Career Center to work after-school hours, and Emily Sommer as the newest guidance counselor. Costa also hired both Bridget Sullivan and Jason Marshall to help modernize the library and make it more technology-friendly and accessible to students.
Carol Meeks will serve as the principal’s assistant this year, and Nancy DiRado as the new vice principal’s secretary. Amber Aleman and Caroline Robinson are now the Special Education aids on campus.
“My transition to Costa was definitely a huge adjustment for me because of how different it was to schools I have worked at in the past,” Sommer said. “Costa offers so many different athletic and academic options for the students and because of these options, it is nice to see such a diverse population in students’ interests.”
In order for applicants to interview for the job, administration created a pool of eligible applicants and hired most of the employees over the summer, according to Locke.
After administration made a final decision on the new employees, Dale announced the positions in the first newsletter of the 2016-17 school year, which he sent to all MBUSD staff members, students and parents.
“I am truly hopeful that every new teacher and employee that we have at Costa this school year brings something new to us,” Matthews said. “As a school, we are able to learn from each one of them, and they can learn from us in order to make the schools the best they can possibly be.”
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