Administrator leaves LVUSD

Duffy Clark, assistant superintendent of education for Las Virgenes schools, resigned his job recently to become superintendent of the Hermosa Beach City School District.

"I didn’t want to leave the Las Virgenes Unified School District for just any job," said Clark, 52. "This happened to come up and it was the right fit, and that’s why I made a decision to apply."

Clark came to the Las Virgenes Unified School District (LVUSD) in 1997 and is credited with adding more advanced placement and honors classes for students and increasing high school graduation requirements.

Under Clark, students were required for the first time to take both algebra and geometry to graduate.

Clark also began new tutoring programs for students and was instrumental in putting together a plan to honor more students as valedictorians and salutatorians.

Under those proposals, any student who achieved a 4.2 grade point average or higher would be a valedictorian. The student also must take 26 semesters of honors and advanced placement classes. Students who earn a 4.1 grade average and take 22 semesters of the harder classes could become salutatorians.

Currently, the student with the highest GPA is named valedictorian and the next highest is salutatorian.

Clark, who lives with his family in Orange, started his new job July 1. He said his commute time will be cut in half.

LVUSD officials have begun searching for a replacement and may also reorganize his department.

The Board of Education will consider the reorganization and the valedictorian/salutatorian plan at its Tues., July 11 meeting.

–John Loesing