Culverhouse leaving principal position

A beloved educator is leaving the Laguna Beach Unified School District for a position in the South Bay.

Laguna Beach High School Principal Joanne Culverhouse will be the next assistant superintendent of educational services at Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District, which approved her appointment Tuesday.

Culverhouse begins Aug. 28. She will oversee curriculum and instruction for 11,900 students from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade.

Culverhouse, 56, spent 15 years at Laguna Beach Unified, the last three as the high school principal. Her district experience includes five years as principal at El Morro Elementary School and seven years as Thurston Middle School principal.

She applied for the Palos Verdes position in June.

“This was a wonderful career opportunity for me,” Culverhouse said. “I have always aspired to lead on a broader scope and to help districts move forward with what is best for kids. This is not something that was out of the blue.”

Culverhouse will work alongside former Laguna Beach Unified colleague Don Austin. The Palos Verdes Peninsula school board hired Austin as superintendent this month. Austin served as principal at Laguna Beach High from 2006 to 2011 before becoming an assistant superintendent in the Huntington Beach Union High School District.

Laguna Beach Unified board President Jan Vickers said Culverhouse’s departure is bittersweet.

“Having worked with [Culverhouse] for almost 15 years, I know how we have benefited from her loyalty, integrity, passion and educational knowledge,” Vickers said in a statement. “Three of our four schools have excelled from her leadership as principal.

“Of course I am sad she is leaving, but just as one of her hallmarks is her true compassion and caring for all students and their families, I need to give her the same respect as she advances to meet her career goals.”

Culverhouse increased course offerings at Laguna Beach High and intervention support programs for struggling students, according to a district news release.

Laguna Beach Unified staff is recommending retired school administrator Carolyn Williams, a former assistant superintendent with the Fullerton Joint Union High School District and principal at Dana Hills High School, as Laguna Beach High’s interim principal, said Leisa Winston, Laguna’s director of human resources and communications.

The school board is expected to vote on the appointment Tuesday night.

Current high school administrators were considered for the short-term position, Winston said.

“We looked at all options,” Winston wrote in a follow-up email. “We believe that this arrangement best meets the needs of the students and the school until we are able to fill the permanent post.”

The district will post the permanent job opening and in early September conduct online surveys and hold staff and parent meetings to obtain input on qualities sought for the new administrator. Dates for the meetings will be released once finalized.

Culverhouse will attend high school orientation Monday to say goodbye to students and parents.

“This has been a wonderful journey for me,” Culverhouse said. “It’s been rewarding for me to inspire a group of students to grow, and I’ve also built relationships with families and staff over the years. I have great respect for the board, Superintendent Sherine Smith and office personnel, who have been extremely supportive these last 15 years.”