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Fairlands Elementary School will have a new leader when the school year starts Aug. 12, but it will be one with a familiar face.
At a special meeting Tuesday night, the Pleasanton Unified School District Board of Trustees — with the exception of Trustee Steve Maher, who was absent — voted to appoint current Fairlands vice principal Heidi Deeringhoff as the new head principal.
Deeringhoff briefly shared her gratitude with the board that evening. “I’m really looking forward to continuing to serve our community,” she said. “I’m just so eager to continue my work and to be a lead learner there, so thank you so much for the opportunity.”
Starting at PUSD in 1995 as a teacher and then an instructional coach, Deeringhoff has spent the past two years at Fairlands as vice principal. During that same time, Deeringhoff also served as part-time vice principal at Mohr Elementary.
She will be replacing former principal Shay Galletti, who just moved into her new role as the district director of elementary education. A new vice principal at Fairlands has not been named yet.
The district congratulated Deeringhoff for her promotion in a statement, calling her a “positive and dynamic leader” with a “strong understanding of systemic interventions and restorative discipline to keep student growth and success at the heart of every decision she makes as a leader.”
Fairlands is one of five PUSD schools who will have a new principal in the 2019-20 school year.
Two new vice principals were also announced Tuesday night.
After six years as vice principal at Donlon Elementary, Alex Ramirez is making a move to Hart Middle School, where he will retain the same job title. Ramirez previously spent eight years teaching at Hart before being promoted to Donlon.
“I’m excited to take on this new challenge and I’m heartbroken to leave Donlon because it is an awesome community,” Ramirez told the board. The search for his replacement is underway.
Foothill High School is welcoming a new vice principal, Malcom Norrington, who is coming over from Amador Valley High, where he taught English through the school’s home and hospital program. Norrington, who has more than six years of experience teaching high school, previously worked for 13 years as a police officer.
Norrington told the board that he was “humbled” for the chance to serve the Foothill campus. “I’m excited to serve that community and do everything necessary to continue the excellent academic tradition at the school,” Norrington said. “I’m just very honored and humbled.”
Also Tuesday, the school board unanimously approved an agreement with the city of Pleasanton to give the Foothill football teams temporary shared use of Patelco Sports Complex fields while the artificial turf on the Falcons’ regular athletic field is being replaced.
The agreement allows Falcons football players and coaches “to practice on a city field at the Patelco complex while the field at Foothill is being renovated” at no cost. It is valid through July 30, 2024, although either party could terminate the contract sooner with 30-day written notification.
None of the trustees pulled the item from Tuesday’s consent calendar, so it was approved without discussion.
The Foothill field renovation project, already expected to displace all of the Falcons’ preseason practices, could impact the regular season as well. Foothill recently reached out to its opening week rival, San Leandro High, about relocating the first football game, scheduled at Foothill on Aug. 23. Community members have been concerned about players being at a disadvantage by losing any home games.
In addition to voting on the shared facilities contract, the board approved a revised job description for executive director of facilities, construction and bond programs, and a $58,500 professional development contract on Tuesday.
Wow, what is it like to have a school board that actually reviews principals and vice principals for employment? Here in Livermore our $410,433.71 a year Superintendent Kelly Bowers does all the hiring and even reviews (by herself – with NO board involvement) the performance of her THREE assistant superintendents. The Livermore School board rubber stamps Kelly’s hiring decisions, EVEN WHEN Kelly Bowers hired her son! No wonder, with the Livermore School Board’s lack of oversight, Livermore schools are so far behind schools in the other cities in the Tri-Valley.
Congratulations to both Heidi & Alex. They were both VP’s at Fairlands (at different times) while I worked there. Both are hard working individuals that truly have the student’s best interest at heart. Fairlands & Hart are lucky to have them!
Congratulations Heidi,
Keep our Fairlands community in check, keep the focus on the kids.
Congratulations to Heidi on her promotion to Fairlands Principal! She is an amazing administrator, teacher and person! They will be in excellent hands there.