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CUSD plans for school year starting Aug. 16
CVHS theater project
As the new school year begins next month, work on the campus of Central Valley High School continues to open the new Ricardo Campero Performing Arts Center. The building should be completed in September and ready for use in the winter. - photo by JEFF BENZIGER/ Courier file photo

Summer vacation will be ending in three weeks and Ceres Unified School District is planning for students’ return to campuses.

The first day of the 2023-24 school year will be on Wednesday, August 16.

Ceres High School will host its orientation sessions on two days with Wednesday, August 9 from 8 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. being for sophomores, juniors and seniors; and Friday, August 11 (from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.) being for incoming freshmen.

Central Valley High School will welcome back students during its annual “Taking Flight” orientation session on Thursday, August 8 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Seniors are scheduled to pick up text books, register and take student ID photos between 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.; juniors between 10:30 a.m. and 12 noon; sophomores from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.; and freshmen from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The district has hired 56 new teachers and 79 classified staff members.

CUSD is seeing a large shuffle of administrators for the upcoming year:

Emily Harry will be CUSD’s new director of Career Technical Education (CTE), a change from her current position as Coordinator of Educational Options. Since coming to the district in August 2001 Harry has served as a teacher, principal of Carroll Fowler Elementary, and assistant principal of Caswell Elementary. 

Reid Volk will be taking her place as the coordinator of Educational Options. He has been serving as principal of Walter White Elementary School. His starting employment with CUSD in July 2018 was as a teacher and he later became assistant principal of Carroll Fowler Elementary School.

Heather Houtchens becomes the new principal of Walter White Elementary School as she trades in her job as learning director at Blaker-Kinser Junior High School. She was first hired as a teacher in August 2006.

Rita Strange, currently Lead Learning Director at Central Valley High School, is CUSD’s new program administrator for Educational Services. A CUSD employee since August 2012, Strange was also learning director at Mae Hensley Junior High School and an administrative assistant at Westport Elementary School.

Taking over as lead learning director at Central Valley High School is Susana Kandeel, who is leaving her post as assistant principal at CVHS. Her career with CUSD started in August 2010 as a secondary teacher. Earlier in her career she was an instructional coach and an associate principal in Merced. 

Kristen Casal is becoming the new assistant principal of Central Valley High School, switching out her role as learning director at the same school. Casal joined CUSD 12 years ago as a teacher. 

Jose Perez Sanchez will fill the vacancy left by Casal as the new learning director at Central Valley High. He is presently learning director at Blaker-Kinser Junior High and has been with the district for two years.

Julie Medina, Mae Hensley’s learning director is CUSD’s new Program Specialist for Student Support Services. First hired in 2014, she was previously a special education teacher.

Another administrative change at Mae Hensley is the appointment of Patricia Correia as assistant principal who has been a teacher at Caswell Elementary School. She has been with CUSD since January 2019.

Don Pedro Elementary School is getting a new principal in 

Tonya Shuford, being promoted from the assistant principal level. She came to CUSD July 2018, hired as assistant principal of Sinclear Elementary School.

Veronica Villa is resuming her Program Specialist role in Special Education after having served as assistant principal at Sam Vaughn Elementary. Hired by CUSD in October 2005, she has been a special education teacher, and a Teacher on Special Assignment/District Coach.

Cesar Chavez Junior High School learning director Lyzette Mendoza will be the new assistant principal.

Since her hiring by CUSD in 2008, Mendoza has been a secretary, child care supervisor, recreational leader and administrative assistant at Virginia Parks Elementary.

Nicole Aguiar is changing campuses, leaving Whitmore Charter Schools as its learning director to become learning director at Ceres High School. Her first job with CUSD was an elementary teacher in August 2010.

Virginia Parks Elementary School is getting a new principal in Justin Tate who has been associate principal of CVHS. Since Tate’s hiring in October 2012, he has been assistant principal of CVHS and a special education teacher.

Kimberly Wood will remain at Central Valley High School but is changing jobs, switching from assistant principal to associate principal. She has only been with CUSD since July 2022.

Alexandria Martinez will change jobs on the campus of Blaker-Kinser Junior High School. She was the administrative assistant at Blaker-Kinser and will now serve as learning director. She has been with CUSD since August 2018, serving as Social Skills Facilitator for CUSD’s Student Support Services, and Student Support Specialist at Mae Hensley Junior High School. 

Jennifer Meisner is the new assistant principal at Sam Vaughn Elementary School. She currently is the learning director at Central Valley High School and has been with the district since July 2011.

Currently a special education teacher at Mae Hensley, Courtney Musselman, a CUSD employee since 2018, is becoming a learning director at Central Valley High School.

Ceres High School will see a change of jobs for Andrea Baroni, who was hired four years ago. She moves up to assistant principal from learning director.

Carroll Fowler Elementary is welcoming a new assistant principal with the arrival of Mike Reynolds who has had various roles since CUSD hired him in March 2006. He is trading in his job as a special education teacher at Central Valley High School. Previously he taught special education at Whitmore Charter and was a paraprofessional at Central Valley High School.

Jorge Dominguez moves back to Ceres Unified after serving as an academic counselor in Los Banos to take a role as learning director at Ceres High School. In 2013 he was hired by CUSD as a delivery driver and later an administrative assistant.

Currently the assistant principal at Walter White Elementary,

Michelle Madrigal will assume the assistant principal role at Central Valley High School. She has been with the district January 2005.

New to CUSD is Nicole Lalumiere Weaving who will be assistant principal at Walter White Elementary. She has been teaching at Weaver Middle School in Merced.