Scotts Valley High School Principal Joe Allen watched as students filed from the football field to their classrooms last Friday after arranging themselves into a giant “25”—proclaiming to any bird, drone or plane the educational institution had reached the quarter-century mark.
Allen said the second-day-of-the-semester activity was to help get the school year off on the right foot.
“It was just a great way to kick things off,” he said.
It’s also a new chapter in Allen’s life. The 44-year-old from the High Desert previously worked at Scotts Valley Middle School (as an assistant principal for two years, then as the principal for four).
“There was a change in some District office staff personnel,” he said.
He added that Scotts Valley Unified School District Superintendent Tanya Krause asked him to make the professional shift.
“The high school has a theme of respect, integrity and compassion,” he said. “We constantly reiterate that with our students.”
Allen explained that the community of Scotts Valley was integral to establishing SVHS in the first place.
Sharon Willey, the head of the 25th Anniversary Committee, and Dayna Nedney, a teacher who is also the school’s student activities director, came up with the idea of getting the student body to form a giant “25” on the football field.
Afterward, there were other activities for the students to take part in—including music and games—before launching into another year of academics.
During the activity, the senior staff and visitor parking area was still fenced off. Allen said the new solar panels—similar to what’s going in on the other campuses—were almost ready to switch on.
“Most of the construction is done,” he said. “They’re just finishing up all the connectors.”
SVUSD trustees originally voted to support solar panel construction to promote sustainability and reduce the District’s exposure to electricity price increases.
