Schools
New Administrators Settle In at Beverly High, Hawthorne
When the academic year starts Sept. 6, there will be different leaders at two city schools.
When Beverly Hills students come back to school in two weeks, they will notice key staff changes, particularly at and .
Former BHHS Assistant Principal Jennifer Tedford is now at the Beverly Hills Unified School District office as the director of educational services. The former assistant superintendent in this job, ,left the district June 30; the job was downgraded to a director position in order to save money.
Tedford takes over the crucial role of overseeing student curriculum, staff development and special education on an interim basis. If she does well this school year, she will assume the position permanently, Board of Education members said.
Tedford’s former job was filled by Hawthorne Principal Toni Staser, who sent an email to Hawthorne families notifying them that she would be moving to BHHS. Hawthorne Assistant Principal Kathy Schaeffer will take over as principal. The board approved both changes Aug. 3.
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“Serving in this position at Beverly Hills High School allows me to work directly with students,” Staser wrote in her email. “I am thrilled that the 2011-12 school year at Hawthorne School will have Kathy Schaeffer at the helm. Hawthorne School will be led by an administrator who knows this campus, the staff, the students and parents … no one could be more deserving of this honor.”
A few Hawthorne teachers and parents told Patch that Schaeffer was popular with the staff and families because she had been at the school for many years.
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Now, the search is on for a new Hawthorne assistant principal.
“The competitive process will solicit input and direction from students,
parents and staff,” Superintendent Gary Woods said in an announcement. “In the short term, we have asked Ms. Staser to be present and available to Mrs. Schaeffer the first few weeks of school in order to ensure a smooth transition for Hawthorne's staff members and students.”
BHUSD must also search for a new principal at , where interim principal Irene Stern is expected to stay only through the next school year.
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