Five Principals and Three Assistant Principals Appointed to OUSD Schools

ORANGE, Calif. – July 27, 2015 – The Orange Unified School District (OUSD) Board of Education appointed Sandra Preciado-Martin, Robert Johnson, and Fayroze Mostafa to the position of Elementary School Principal, and Elsie Briseño Simonovski, Ph.D., to the position of Richland High School Principal.  Also during the regular session meeting on July 23, Celinna Pinelo and Keri Kimes Davis were appointed as High School Assistant Principals. Previously, Joseph Vidal was appointed to Elementary Principal, and David Shun was appointed as Elementary School Assistant Principal at the June 4 regular session meeting.
                                                                                                 
Sandra Preciado-Martin was assigned as Principal of West Orange Elementary School.  She has served as Assistant Principal at El Modena High School since 2012.  Prior to this assignment, Ms. Preciado-Martin was a Spanish teacher at Canyon High School for twelve years.  Sandra has a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from California State University, Fullerton.  In addition to teaching credentials in Foreign Language-Spanish and Psychology, she has an Administrative Services Credential.  Ms. Preciado-Martin has distinguished herself by working in the community with students and families.

Robert Johnson will be assigned as Principal of Linda Vista Elementary. He comes to Orange Unified School District from the Fullerton District where he currently serves as an elementary principal. Mr. Johnson has twelve years of experience as an elementary administrator in the Fullerton School District.   Prior to the administrative assignments, Mr. Johnson was a teacher for many years.  He has a Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies and Music from California State University, Long Beach and a Master’s degree in Educational Administration from California State University, Fullerton.  In addition, he holds a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and Administrative Services Credential.  Mr. Johnson brings many years of experience to Orange USD.

Fayroze Mostafa was appointed as Principal of Anaheim Hills Elementary School. She comes to OUSD from the ABC Unified School District where she served as Director of Child Development and Special Programs. She also has experience as a high school assistant principal in ABC Unified.  She has experience teaching all elementary grade levels in both the ABC and Hacienda-La Puente Unified School Districts.  She works closely with the community of learners to build quality educational programs.  She has a Bachelor’s degree in Child Development and two Master’s degrees, one in Educational Administration, and the other in Curriculum and Instruction. Ms. Mostafa holds a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and Administrative Services Credential.

Joseph Vidal was appointed as Principal of Running Springs Elementary. He comes to the Orange Unified School District from Laguna Beach USD where he served as a middle school assistant principal.  Prior to his service in Laguna Beach Unified, Mr. Vidal was an elementary school assistant principal and Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA) in the Irvine Unified School District.  Joe has several years of experience as a special education teacher in both the Fullerton School District and in Irvine Unified.  He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Master’s degree in Special Education, both from California State University, Long Beach.  Mr. Vidal also has a second Master’s degree from the Principal’s Leadership Institute at UCLA.  He has teaching credentials as an Education Specialist for students with Mild/Moderate disabilities and an Administrative Services Credential.  

Elsie Briseño Simonovski, Ph.D. was appointed as Principal of Richland High School. Dr. BriseñoSimonovski was most recently Administrator of K-12 Academic Content Design for Orange USD. Prior to this position, she served as Coordinator of Special Education and Special Programs when she began her career in OUSD in 2010.  She has distinguished herself working with teachers and the community on learning the new academic content standards. Previously, she was a Project Director for English Learners/Curriculum and Instruction in the Montebello USD.  She has also served as a middle school assistant principal and literacy coach in Montebello.  In Lynwood USD she was a resource teacher and elementary teacher. Elsie holds a Bachelor’s degree in History from UC San Diego, a Master’s degree in Education Curriculum and Instruction, and a Doctorate in Urban Education from Claremont Graduate University. In addition, she has a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, a Reading Specialist Certificate, and an Administrative Services Credential.

Celinna Pinelo was appointed as High School Assistant Principal at Orange High School.  She has served as Coordinator of Learning Support Services in the Orange USD since 2013.  Prior to this assignment, she was Coordinator of English Learner Services and Special Programs at the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE).  At LACOE, she also served as a literacy specialist teacher and English Language Development teacher at the secondary level.  She has Bachelor’s degree in English and Master’s degree in Educational Administration, both from California State University, Los Angeles.  In addition, Celinna holds a Single Subject Teaching Credential in English, Reading Specialist Certificate, and Administrative Services Credential.  

Keri Kimes was appointed as High School Assistant Principal at El Modena High School.  She comes to the Orange Unified School District from her current position as an English teacher and department chair at Tustin High School in the Tustin USD.  In addition to these duties, Ms. Davis has experience as an OCDE technology trainer, WASC focus group leader, and as a varsity coach.  She previously served in the United States Air Force where she was trained as a Korean language translator.  Ms. Kimes holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from California State University, Fullerton and a Master’s degree in Education from Pepperdine University.  She holds a Single Subject Teaching Credential in English and an Administrative Services Credential.

David Shun was appointed as Assistant Principal at Lampson Elementary. He is currently serving as an elementary assistant principal in the Centralia School District in Buena Park.  Mr. Shun has also served as a summer school principal for several years in Centralia.  His teaching experience includes teaching in the primary and upper grades as well as service at a Title 1 School and as a GATE teacher.  David Shun holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Master’s degree in Educational Administration from the University of California, Irvine.  He holds a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential in and an Administrative Services Credential.

Congratulations to Ms. Preciado-Martin, Mr. Johnson, Ms. Mostafa, Mr. Vidal, Dr. Briseño Simonovski, Ms. Pinelo, Ms. Davis and Mr. Shun on their new appointments!