By Lookout Staff

August 20, 2012 -- The Santa Monica-Malibu School District got two new administrators after the Board of Education appointed Dr. Terry Deloria and Stephen Franklin to their posts earlier this month.

Deloria -- who was Director of Special Programs and Staff Development at William S. Hart Union High School District in Santa Clarita -- was appointed as the new Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services for the district.

Franklin -- formerly the Senior Assistant Principal of Bell Gardens High School in the Montebello School District -- will take over as the new House Principle for Santa Monica High School.

“Dr. Deloria is well-versed in best practices to improve student achievement at all ability levels,” District officials said.

“As Director of Special Programs and Staff Development, and in collaboration with the Directors of Technology and of Curriculum, she led the districtwide plan to transition to common core standards and assessments,” officials said.

Deloria’s approach has been a top-down one. While at the William S. Hart Union High School District, she focused on professional development for teachers and staff as a means toward student improvement, according to district officials.

“Additionally, Dr. Deloria has worked with Johns Hopkins University to better include parents in the support of student success,” officials said.

She was named Administrator of the Year for 2011-12, received the Association of California School Administrators’ “David Millen Mentoring Award” and Valuing Diversity Award.

She also received the California School Board Association’s Golden Bell Award for the Intensive Literacy Program, was named District Teacher of the Year in 1997, and received the Wright Brothers Award of Excellence in Teaching Math.

SAMOHI’s new House Principal “promotes a safe, orderly, and positive school environment by facilitating meetings among educators, students, and parents to improve communication and resolve conflicts,” officials said.

“Franklin worked with his peers to develop a master schedule that promoted rigor and maximized course offerings” as Bell Gardens High School’s assistant principal, officials said.

He also helped students prepare themselves for life after high school.

“He supervised the counselors and advisors in promoting a college-going atmosphere throughout the entire campus as well as promoted career options through the ROP program,” according to officials.

He has worked with extensively in the visual and performing arts, using it to help keep students challenged and safe, district officials said.

SAMOHI is divided into 5 separate administrative units called “houses,” each with their own principal.