First in a series
[img]2596|left|||no_popup[/img]Spread your arms akimbo. Hold the position until they ache. That approaches how much Jon Pearson, the enormously popular departing principal of the Culver City Middle School, will be missed when he turns out his desk lamp for the final time on Friday, June 27.
Seven-year itch. That is why he is leaving. (Six years as principal after one year in the assistant’s chair.)
Large promotion – an equally compelling reason.
Newly created ambitious, far-reaching position will reset the buzz in his brain to stimulate his periodic quest for cerebral challenges that will force his mind to be elastic.
Tall Challenge
Bound for the sprawling 30-campus Torrance Unified School District, Mr. Pearson will establish a fast-paced norm in a just-designed, multi-layered administrative role.
Friends say if you are not energized after a few minutes with Mr. Pearson, dial the nearest mortuary.
At 45 years old, he was high octane before and after Big Oil was describing their product in such terms.
By virtually all accounts, the twinning of Mr. Pearson and Culver City students, along with their parents, was a match carved by a higher power in education heaven.
Why This Career?
[img]2597|right|||no_popup[/img]He chose education because “I had a desire to make a difference in the lives of kids,” he said this afternoon. “I was blessed with a great childhood and wonderful parents.” Mr. Pearson’s voice undulated as he spoke. He wasn’t repeating a popular concept by rote. He wanted to accent his authentic feelings.
“When I moved to California, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life,” Mr. Pearson said. “I started volunteering at an inner city after-school program. That is when I realized, ‘I want to do this. I want to work with kids, whether it is through coaching, through tutoring, through teaching. I want to help make a difference in the lives of kids who, maybe, were not as fortunate as I was.’”
That, said Mr. Pearson, “was what caused me to go back to school (USC and Cal State Northridge) to get my teaching credential and master’s degrees.”
(To be continued)
