New Principal Selected for Canyon Crest Academy

SAN DIEGO, CA: Less than two weeks after announcing the departure of Canyon Crest Academy Principal Karl Mueller, the San Dieguito Union High School District has selected someone for the position.

As Mueller departs to become superintendent of the Coronado Unified School District, former Torrey Pines High School Principal Brett Killeen will assume the role of principal at CCA, the SDUHSD Board of Trustees and Superintendent Rick Schmitt announced Thursday evening in a news release.

Killeen currently serves as assistant superintendent of Human Relations in the Vista Unified School District, but has decided to return to SDUHSD. He begins his new position July 1.

"I will forever be thankful for the opportunity to learn and lead in the Vista Unified School District — it's truly a fantastic team doing great work for kids every day," Killeen said. "It is difficult to leave such a great position where my contribution to kids is through the hard work of our committed adults. The opportunity to return to SDUHSD to lead an amazing school like CCA, however, is too great to pass up, and I will once again be able to make a more direct and personal contribution to students at the site level as part of a district with a rich history of success.

"The high school principalship — particularly at a special school like CCA — provides an educational leader the unique opportunity to support and work with all constituencies (students, classified staff, teachers, administrators, parents, and community members) on a daily basis."

Killeen has worked as an educator for 25 years, 17 of which have been in leadership. From 2006 to 2013, he served as principal of Torrey Pines High School. Prior to that, he worked for the San Bernardino City Unified School District, where he held positions including high school principal, vice principal, high school English teacher, middle school language arts and reading teacher, BTSA support provider and coach.

Killeen and his family are well-established in coastal North County. In addition to living in the area and having led Torrey Pines, his wife, Claire, teaches elementary school in Encinitas, and his sons attended Oak Crest Middle School and San Dieguito High School Academy. The couple's eldest son just finished his freshman year at Point Loma Nazarene University, where he is majoring in music and business, and their younger son is a junior at San Dieguito High School Academy. Their daughter is a seventh-grader at Diegueno Middle School.

"I'm familiar with the history and culture of CCA, having worked with Mr. Jaffe and Mr. Kohn, and I've been a friend and colleague of Mr. Mueller's for 10 years," Killeen said. "I've been following the successes of CCA's creative and inspiring students, teachers, and staff, and I look forward to joining this special team and becoming a part of the fabric that makes the school and district so special."