New administrative positions created to help at-risk students

by Stephanie BertholdoBertholdo@theacorn.com

Chris Regan In response to the ongoing problem of bullying in local schools, two new dean of students positions have been created for the two middle schools in Las Virgenes Unified School District.

Chris Regan, a Spanish teacher at Calabasas High School, will fill the dean’s position at Alice C. Stelle Middle School. District staff continues to review applicants for the position at Lindero Canyon Middle School.

Regan said that as dean he will be in charge of student discipline. In addition to working with kids who bully other children, he wants to work closely with students who’ve been victims of bullying, he said.

Regan expects his experience in peer support at the high school will transfer to his new position.

The catalyst for the new dean positions is a sexual molestation case brought against the school district. The case involved two students, one of them a special education student. The student who allegedly abused a classmate appears to have had a history of aggressive behavior that wasn’t properly addressed by school officials. A “bullying task force” was formed, and the district is now studying solutions to a problem that research finds is a growing trend nationwide.

Regan said when the peer mediation was used correctly, “it worked well.” He said that simply allowing students to express their feelings in a safe environment is beneficial in combating peer pressure, which is at its height during middle school.

“I like middle school kids because I can get to them early,” Regan said. The new dean position, he added, will give him the additional opportunity to help students. “That’s why I became a teacher,” he said.

Regan has been a teacher for six years at Calabasas High School, but since he attended Las Virgenes schools from kindergarten through twelfth grade, he said he feels quite at home at the local school.

According to school officials, Regan also served as a “support provider” for two years, and the “digital high school coordinator.” Regan was credited with the development of the Single Plan for Student Achievement and has been an active member of the school’s Site Council.

Regan graduated from the University of Puget Sound, in Tacoma, Wash., with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish. He earned his administrative credential and master’s in educational administration at CSUN. He also completed course work in Spain and at Columbia University.

“My goal is to help the middle school kids to make the transition from middle school to high school and beyond,” Regan said.

He added that one of his biggest challenges will be to change how students behave while using the internet. Between text messaging and live journal websites, bullying has evolved into a multi-level problem for students.

“I will miss teaching Spanish, but I’m ready for the new challenges and exciting things that I will be doing as an administrator,” Regan said.