I am happy to announce that at the June 17, 2014 Board of Trustees meeting, Ms. Katherine Whittaker Stopp was approved as the new principal for Meadows Elementary School. Ms. Stopp was selected after a comprehensive process. We began by learning from parents and teachers about what would make the ideal principal at Meadows. Then, a team of Meadows teachers and MBUSD administrators reviewed a pool of 25 qualified applicants. Next, a team of Meadows teachers, Meadows parents and MBUSD administrators interviewed seven highly qualified candidates. Finally, the Superintendent and Cabinet members interviewed four finalist candidates. From those interviews, Ms. Stopp was the clear choice as the best candidate for Meadows.

 

Ms. Stopp earned her BA from UCLA, her MA from Pepperdine, and she is in the process of earning her Ed.D. from USC. She began teaching in MBUSD in 1995, teaching at Grand View and Robinson Elementary Schools. She earned the California Young Educator Award in 2000, and was a two-time Teacher of the Year at Robinson Elementary. We hired her as a TOSA for Writing and Literacy in 2012.  Ms. Stopp is an outstanding instructional leader and a positive high-energy person who will do great things to support the entire Meadows community.

 

I thank everyone involved in helping this process to happen.  Dr. Brett Geithman, the Executive Director of Human Resources, and his staff did an outstanding job of advertising the position and arranging every level of the process. There were so many Meadows teachers, Meadows parents and MBUSD administrators who gave their time to this process, making it a true community effort. I believe that Ms. Stopp is a perfect fit for Meadows, and she will carry on the great work happening there now.

 

She will officially begin as the Meadows principal on July 1, 2014. Congratulations to Ms. Stopp and the entire Meadows community. I hope you all will join me in welcoming Katherine Whittaker Stopp as the new principal of Meadows Elementary School.

Thank you,

 

Superintendent of Schools
Manhattan Beach Unified School District
325 South Peck Ave.
Manhattan Beach, CA  90266
310-318-7345 x5902
[email protected]