[BHS Etree] BUSD: New Berkeley High School Principal Appointed

Wed Apr 8 22:03:09 PDT 2015

PLEASE do not reply to this email, contact MarkCoplan,markcoplan at berkeley.net

*_FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE_*

*New Berkeley High School Principal Appointed*

The Berkeley Unified School District announced today the appointment of 
Sam Pasarow to the position of Principal of Berkeley High School. 
Principal Pasarow has established himself as a strong instructional 
leader, committed to equitable and restorative practices that contribute 
to student engagement and a positive school culture. His administrative 
experience includes serving as a Resident Principal at East Oakland 
School of the Arts, Principal at Oakland Community Day School, Principal 
on Special Assignment at Skyline High School, and Principal of Edna 
Brewer Middle School.

His references highlighted his broad range of talents, stating “as an 
instructional leader, Sam has incorporated instructional strategies and 
techniques that have served to create a highly successful learning 
environment for all students in his school. These strategies have led to 
successful outcomes for all Edna Brewer students, as seen by the 
comparative data among OUSD middle schools: the highest API in 2012, the 
highest reading scores 2012-present, the highest common core math 
benchmark scores in the current school year, the lowest suspension rate 
for the past two school years, and the lowest rates of suspension for 
African-American students during the 2013-14 and current school year."

"Another strength in Mr. Pasarow’s leadership is in the area of 
social-emotional learning, as well as training in cultural 
competency. The Edna Brewer community is extremely diverse, both 
ethnically and socio-economically. Sam has leveraged this asset by 
deeply engaging staff, students, parents, and families in the use of 
restorative justice practices, and training in social emotional learning 
skills and competencies.  This is evident in the professional 
development teachers receive, and the intentional focus on these 
practices in advisory as well as in content areas."

According to Superintendent Donald Evans, “Finding the right leader for 
Berkeley High School has been both challenging and exciting. We had so 
many great candidates, and we were fortunate to have the involvement of 
teachers, administrators, board members and parents who participated in 
the interview process. I am very pleased with the outcome, and confident 
that the BHS community will find a strong educational leader in 
Principal Pasarow.” When making the announcement of Mr. Pasarow’s 
appointment at tonight’s School Board meeting, Board President Judy 
Appel noted that "Mr. Pasarow impressed the interview panels with his 
student-centered commitments to quality education, equity and positive 
school culture. We are very excited to work with him as he takes on the 
leadership of our exceptional high school."

Mr. Pasarow will fill the job that has been skillfully carried out by 
Interim Principal Kristin Glenchur during this school year. Principal 
Glenchur’s years of experience as vice principal at Berkeley High School 
and her calm and steady leadership style allowed continued progress on 
many school-wide goals, including ensuring that the recent mid-term 
accreditation visit went off without a hitch.

**

*The Process*

In January the Board began a national search for the new principal of 
Berkeley High School. District and Berkeley High School (BHS) staff 
partnered with The Cosca Group, an executive search firm specialized in 
educational leadership, to handle the recruitment and networking 
process. Dr. David Brown and Dr. Lynne Kennedy headed up the search 
team. The Cosca Group met with students, staff, parents, and community 
members to gather information about the community and the qualities 
desired in the next high school principal. An online questionnaire 
supplemented the stakeholder meetings in order to include more community 
input. The Cosca group summarized the input, advertised widely, and also 
directly recruited potential candidates who had been identified early in 
the search process.

Extensive interviews, testing, references and background checks winnowed 
the strong group of candidates to a few top contenders. After further 
panel interviews, which engaged staff, parents and teachers, the 
Superintendent highly recommended the finalist, Sam Pasarow.

*BHS Principal Sam Pasarow*

Sam Pasarow began his teaching career at De Anza High School, after 
completing a Masters in Education and a teaching credential from UC 
Berkeley, with student teaching experience at both Berkeley High and 
Skyline High School. His undergraduate degree in English and Literature 
was also from UC Berkeley, where he specialized in folklore under the 
direction of Alan Dundes, a preeminent Anthropology Professor.

Mr. Pasarow will officially join Berkeley High and BUSD leadership team 
on July 1, 2015. He has consistently expressed that being the principal 
of Berkeley High School is the opportunity of a lifetime. He has 
expressed that he is both excited and humbled by the opportunity to join 
a thriving community.

-- 

Mark Coplan, Public Information Officer

Berkeley Unified School District

510-644-6320 Cell: 510-472-3811

__________________________________

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