Current Castaic Elementary School Principal Stephanie Beach will have a new role next year as the principal of Live Oak Elementary School, the Castaic Union School District announced Thursday.
The move is due to the upcoming retirement of current Live Oak Principal Cynthia Seamands, and will be effective July 1.
“We want to sincerely thank Mrs. Seamands for her years of dedication to the students of Castaic Union School District and we wish her well in her retirement,” the Castaic district said in a statement.
Before the start of the 2018-19 school year, the district is expected to look for candidates to fill the principal role at Castaic Elementary School through a statewide search.
Beach joined the Castaic district in August 2000 when she began her career as a fifth-grade teacher at Castaic Middle School. She also taught third grade at Live Oak Elementary before returning to Castaic Middle School in 2011 as a Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA).
In 2012, Beach was appointed to acting assistant principal at the middle school before being named assistant principal in 2014.
She then briefly returned to the district office as an Administrator on Special Assignment before becoming principal of Castaic Elementary School in April 2016.
During her time at Castaic Elementary School, Beach enhanced the school’s family-friendly culture, focused on technology and STEM activities and secured funding to support programs that had been canceled due to “lack of financial support.”
She also formed a partnership with the Los Angeles International Academy to form sister school relationships in China and begin a foreign exchange program at schools throughout the Castaic district.
To increase immersion into a new culture, Castaic Elementary also began weekly Chinese language classes this year to expose students to a second language.
“During this Chinese language time, the students will be participating in age appropriate fun activities that teach the basics of Chinese language and also reinforce the California State Standards,” Beach told The Signal in September 2017. “Early second language acquisition has been proven to help children’s’ brains develop and increase critical thinking skills.”
In addition to her work at the elementary school, Beach is a GATE-certified teacher, a Castaic district English Language Development Administrator and is a proponent for 21st century learning and instructional technology.
“We are confident that her experience and the relationships she has established with the staff and community will be an asset to her and the students in her new role as Principal at Live Oak Elementary School,” the Castaic district said.
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