Second in a series. 

Re: “Emphasis on the First Syllables in ‘Super-intendent’” 

In his first interview as the new superintendent of the School District, Dr. Josh Arnold, fresh from a four-year posting in Los Alamitos, was saying that he practically has come home to where it all started in the late 1970s.

The superintendent had a story to relate, and relaxation was the unspoken order of the moment.

You knew from his accessible, twinkling expression that it would be entertaining, a fun roller coaster ride.

Tall and athletic, prematurely bald, his hirsute deficit only makes him look a month older than he is.

“I grew up in West L.A., Beverly Hills, and I started off in private school, at the Center for Early Education, off Melrose and LaCienega,” Dr. Arnold said, leaning back easily in his chair.

“I went there for a little bit.

“My parents had interesting ideas about where their (three) kids should go to school.

“So we all ended up going to different schools. We ended up going to Harvard Westlake, Mirman, Beverly Hills public schools, and a couple other places along the way.

“I ended up, from grades 4 through 12, being part of the Beverly Hills public school system, Beverly Vista and Beverly Hills High School, graduating in 1997.”

The young Josh Arnold was that rare gem, a parent’s dream:

“I loved school,” he says, convincingly.

“Loved school. All the way through.”

This was not accidental.

“Education was a value in my home, doing school. And not just academics. A lot about academics, but not just.”

A listener wondered about the fabric of the Arnold childhood home.

“It’s an interesting story,” he said. “The context is my dad (Nick Arnold) was a television writer. My dad wrote, directed and produced ‘Welcome Back Kotter.’ Wrote, directed and produced ‘Private Benjamin.’ Wrote the monologue for the ‘Tonight Show’ for 20 years.’

“Just a successful Hollywood screenwriter,” said Dr. Arnold, adding almost as an afterthought, “a comedian, too.”

That would be the headline.

That was a phrase nine months pregnant with enormous promise.

(To be continued)