The Pleasanton school board recently announced that Jonathan Fey, a local resident who has worked in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District, will be the new principal for Amador Valley High School.

The trustees welcomed Fey at their July 28 meeting, where he took some time to thank the board members and the community for their support as he transitions into his new role with the Pleasanton Unified School District.

"I want to say thank you for the trust that you're placing in me in terms of being the instructional and curriculum leader of this wonderful and great school," Fey said. "It's going to be such a great opportunity to embed myself even more into this community that I love and support."

Fey is coming to Amador after serving four years as principal at Monte Gardens Elementary School in Concord. Before that, he was the vice principal at Northgate High School in Walnut Creek.

He succeeds Joshua Butterfield, who stepped down from Amador in June after three years as principal for a districtwide position as PUSD's new director of secondary education. Fey becomes Amador's sixth principal in eight years, following a series of resignations, promotions and interims.

Allison Prewitt, communication and community relations assistant, told the Weekly that Fey was known for, "establishing strong relationships with staff and families, as well as maintaining a student-centered mindset when making school decisions."

She said that before his experience as an administrator, Fey served for 20 years as a high school instrumental music teacher at schools throughout California.

"Jonathan is a former band teacher so he understands how to conduct various groups and that's an important skill set at the high school level because you've got all these different departments that have different priorities," PUSD Superintendent David Haglund said.

Fey has lived in the Pleasanton community for 18 years, and although each of his kids went to Foothill High School, he said he looks forward to joining the Amador team.

"I just really appreciate your guys' vote of confidence in my abilities to be able to keep this school a great and wonderful place," Fey said.

Haglund said Fey is a perfect fit for the job because of his personality and the fact that he has lived in the community for so long. The superintendent added he has faith that Fey's community connections and relationships with students has fully prepared him for his new role.

"The people who were on the panel from Amador were really excited about having him as their next principal so I'm excited to have him join the team," Haglund said.