On principal, school district opts for change

Tom Spence Las Virgenes Unified School District will have several new principals at the helm when school resumes this fall.

Dan Stepenosky, LVUSD assistant superintendent of personnel, announced that Tom Spence will take charge as principal of Round Meadow Elementary School in Hidden Hills, replacing Keith Tomes.

Jessica Kiernan will replace Gary Galvan at Willow Elementary School in Agoura Hills, and Kimmarie Taylor is stepping into the principal's role at A.E. Wright Middle School in Calabasas.

Spence has worked as a teacher in Las Virgenes for 14 of his 17 years in education. He held the job of coordinator for the district's Teacher Support Program for the past two years, a role in which he "excelled," said Stepenosky.

Tom Spence

Spence taught several grade levels in the district, including kindergarten, first and fourth grade, and was the "teacher in charge" at Sumac Elementary School in Agoura Hills for six years.

Spence also has experience teaching abroad. He taught second grade at the United Nations International School of Hanoi, Vietnam, where he also served as the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program Coordinator for the school. While living in Vietnam, Spence was honored as a finalist for the Search and Associates Teacher of the Year Award.

Kimmarie Taylor "I am truly thrilled and excited to be joining the community of Round Meadow Elementary and am looking forward to partnering with the excellent teachers, supportive parents, and most importantly, the fantastic students in continuing Round Meadow's legacy of producing wellrounded, academically strong students," Spence said. "It is my hope and my goal to support Round Meadow students and teachers toward this goal despite the financial challenges in the form of budget cuts being experienced by schools across the state."

Jessica Kiernan

Kiernan brings an interesting slant to her new position at Willow Elementary. In 2006, she began working on her doctorate in educational leadership at California Lutheran University with a focus on international educational policy, educational transformation and brain research. Her current studies focus her attention on international educational policy, educational transformation, and brain research.

Kiernan, who has been the assistant principal at Hueneme School District for the past four years, says she hopes to lead the school with a "collaborative spirit," and build programs and teamwork with teachers and the community. Since she hasn't worked in the Las Virgenes district before, she said her biggest challenge will be determining what the community wants and how to implement it.

"I am most excited by the kind of positive energy I felt when I went to the open house," she said. "There was an overwhelming feeling of support, energy and enthusiasm. That excites me."

Kimmarie Taylor

Taylor joined the Las Virgenes Unified School District six years ago. She taught history and was the activities director at Agoura High before being promoted to dean of students at A.E. Wright Middle School.

A California native who grew up in Newbury Park, Taylor graduated from Brigham Young University in Utah. She taught U.S. history and choral music in Provo, Utah before coming to California where she received her master's degree at California State University, Northridge and also landed a job as an advanced placement and honors history teacher at Taft High School in Woodland Hills.

As principal of A.E. Wright, Taylor said she'd like to maintain the "positive and caring atmosphere for students and staff." She's also pledged to improve online access to grades for parents and students and integrate technology into the classroom.

"I really enjoy working with kids and on top of teaching students in the classroom, I have spent numerous hours advising co-curricular activities such as mock trial, National Junior Honor Society, Student Council, volleyball, and directing and accompanying musicals," Taylor said.

"While I know there will be many challenges as principal, the first one that comes to mind is the challenge of meeting the needs of all students," she said.

Taylor was asked to join the classified employees negotiating team last year. "She was an amazing addition to the team," Stepenosky said. "She jumped in with both feet and greatly assisted the dialog that occurred."