New School and District Administrators Appointed

Information from the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District--

The Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District (LVJUSD) is very pleased to announce the appointments of an Assistant Director of Special Education, a new principal, and 3 vice principals, all of whom begin their official duties July 1, 2013.

Mr. Stephan Bering, principal of two California distinguished schools, including Altamont Creek Elementary School, will be relocating with his family to Southern California.

Mr. James Yeager, who has served the District well and is currently Christensen Middle School Vice Principal, has accepted a position as an elementary vice principal in Lafayette to further pursue his future goals.

James and Stephan both wish to thank all of the students, staff, parents and community members who have made their time in the LVJUSD a truly wonderful experience.

Vicki Phillips, currently a vice principal at Junction K-8 School, will take on the role of Assistant Director of Special Education, while P.J. Daley, currently a vice principal at Granada High School, will take the helm at Altamont Creek Elementary School. Beth Cutter comes to LVJUSD from the Pleasanton School District and will serve as a vice principal at Granada High School, Erik Taylor, currently a Teacher on Special Assignment and Integrated Technology Specialist in the District, will join the staff at Christensen Middle School as vice principal, and finally, Dayna Taylor, currently in the San Ramon School District, will return to LVJUSD and assume vice principal duties at Junction Avenue K-8 School.

“Research and experience uphold that leaders make a difference. A great deal of energy, input and thought has been invested into administrative hiring and placement decisions. The selected administrators rose to the top of an extremely qualified candidate pool and/or have proven themselves in other leadership capacities in our District, and all have in common a commitment to excellence and a proven track record of doing “whatever it takes” to ensure students receive the highest quality educational experience. We are thrilled about the additions and promotions and confident that our leadership team will be strengthened to the benefit of our staff, students, unified district and community,” stated Kelly Bowers, Superintendent of Schools.

Assistant Director of Special Education
Vicki Phillips has worked for ten years in the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District. She has a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Saint Mary’s College of California and a law degree from the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada.

Vicki is currently the Vice Principal of Junction Avenue K-8 School and has served in this position for the past five years. Prior to her assignment at Junction, Vicki was a Special Education program specialist in the District. Vicki began her teaching career in Livermore at Christensen Middle School, where she taught students with learning disabilities for four years. Before moving to Livermore in 1997, Vicki worked for fifteen years as a family law attorney in Ottawa, Canada.

Vicki’s background in mediation, conflict management and utilization of restorative justice principles has had a positive impact on students and school culture. She has actively worked in building positive relationships with all stakeholders, including teachers, staff, parents, students, and community organizations.

Vicki considers it a privilege to work in education and an honor to serve the students of Livermore. When Portola Elementary School closed and subsequently merged with Junction Avenue Middle School, Vicki worked diligently with the principal, staff and district to facilitate a positive transition for teachers, students and parents to Junction Avenue K-8 School.

Outside of school, Vicki enjoys spending time with her husband John and their three college children, Andrew, Spencer and Marnie. Time spent together includes sailing, traveling and attending A’s baseball games.

Altamont Creek Elementary School Principal
PJ Daley was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, and his family relocated to Santa Cruz, California, when he was seven years old. After graduating from Aptos High, PJ attended UC Santa Barbara for his undergraduate degree where he majored in History and minored in Athletic Coaching.

Following his undergraduate work, PJ earned his single subject teaching credential from CSU Monterey Bay. He then taught history and physical education at Everett Alvarez High School in Salinas. He also was the Head Track and Field coach and a Varsity Football assistant coach. Upon moving to San Jose, he began work as athletic director, history teacher, and coach at Gunderson High School.

In addition to working with athletics, PJ also served on various committees to develop district-wide pacing guides and benchmark assessments for social science. While still working at Gunderson, a technology magnet school, he received his Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from San Jose State, along with an Administrative Credential.

For the past three years PJ has served as Vice Principal at Granada High School. While duties have shifted year to year, he has been in charge of curriculum, instructional technology, activities, athletics, facilities, and Associated Student Body. He has been an active member of the District policy committee.

PJ states that he has never felt more at home than in Livermore. He and his wife Stacey moved here after getting married at Rios Lovell Winery in 2007. They fell in love with the town and have lived in the community for the past five years. He has one daughter Luciana (4) and a baby boy due in September 2013.

When PJ is not hard at work, he enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, camping, running and swimming. As a former coach, he is an avid sports fan and loves the outdoors.

PJ is honored to be the next Principal at Altamont Creek Elementary and is excited to be part of the esteemed school community!

Granada High School Vice Principal
Beth Cutter graduated from Granada High School, attended Las Positas Community College and worked for three years at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. After transferring to UC Berkeley, she earned a BA degree in Molecular and Cell Biology. She returned to the UC Berkeley and earned a MA degree in Education and teaching credentials for Biology and Chemistry in 2006.

She has spent the last seven years as a passionate educator and educational leader at Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton. This spring, Beth completed a Master’s in Educational Leadership with a focus on social justice and equity through CSU, East Bay.

Beth brings an enthusiasm to the classroom as an instructional leader that is evident in the results she achieves with students of all skill levels. She is deeply committed to equitable outcomes for all of her students. Her unrelenting view that every child deserves a high quality education drives her work. Beth strives for the best for all students by working with other educators to create successful programs and learning environments.

In recent years, Beth has actively contributed to site and district level efforts as a Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Focus Group Leader, Department Chair, Equity Team member, Professional Learning Community site leader, and Common Core State Standards Summer Institute coordinator. Her organizational skills, dedication to improving education, and team-oriented approach have made her an effective leader.

Outside of school, Beth enjoys walking downtown and in the parks around Livermore with Kurt, her husband of ten years, and their two dogs. She enjoys travel, cooking, cinema, and spending time with family and friends.

Christensen Middle School Vice Principal
Erik Taylor is extremely excited to be appointed the new vice principal at Christensen Middle School. He was born and raised in Santa Cruz, where he graduated from Harbor High School. After graduation, Erik enlisted in the United States Army and served for three years. Once honorably discharged from military service, he earned his Bachelor of Arts in History at California State University, Chico, and a Master’s of Science in Educational Technology Leadership from California State University East Bay.

Erik began his teaching career at Junction Avenue Middle School in Livermore, where he taught English, history, and technology. He also spent one year teaching business, personal finance and technology at Livermore High School. For the past three years Erik has worked at the District office as a teacher on special assignment with a focus on classroom technology integration.

During his 11 years in Livermore, he has served on several technology, curriculum and data committees. He has helped transform summer school to an online credit recovery program, developed and grown STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education programs at Christensen and East Avenue Middle Schools and conducted multiple professional development offerings throughout the district. Erik believes that technology can empower students to contribute and thrive in our changing world.

Outside of school Erik enjoys spending time with his family and being outdoors. He has been happily married to his wife, Dayna Taylor, for 17 years. They have two wonderful children, Brady and Aidan, who attend Livermore schools.

Junction Avenue K-8 School Vice Principal
Dayna Taylor has been in education for ten years in the Livermore Valley Joint Unified and San Ramon Valley Unified School districts. She has taught English Language Development, English and a variety of Social Science courses at Junction Avenue and Livermore High School. She also served as interim vice principal at Livermore High School.

For the last two years, she has been working as an assistant principal at California High School in San Ramon, where she led the Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Biomedical Health Pathway, the ASB Leadership program and Athletics. Dayna graduated from California State University, Chico, with a Bachelor of Arts in History and a minor in English. She earned her Master’s of Science degree in Educational Leadership from California State University, East Bay.

Dayna brings energy and enthusiasm to her new position. She believes that building relationships is the key to successful leadership and that collaboration with fellow administrators, teachers, staff, parents and students builds a progressive, positive school climate. She is passionate about making a difference in students’ lives and is committed to making the school environment positive and fulfilling for students.