Following a nationwide search, a veteran educator and administrator from the state of Washington has been named the new principal at Upland High School.
Garry Cameron, who has served as the principal of Port Angeles High School in Port Angeles, Wash., since 2009, will begin his new position on July 1. His appointment was recently approved by the Upland Unified School District board of education.
In addition, the school district elevated longtime teacher Sara Domonoske to assistant principal at Upland High.
“Garry brings a wealth of the crucial leadership skills and experiences that we were looking for in this position,” said Upland Unified School District Superintendent Nancy Kelly. “We searched for someone who will be invested in maximizing the potential of all students, as well as the potential of Upland High School.”
Kelly said the district’s nationwide search focused on finding a leader who is student-centered, an effective communicator, collaborative, decisive, transparent, visible, enthusiastic and a strong instructional leader.
“I believe that Upland High School has the potential to be the leader among San Bernardino County schools and the surrounding region in academics, activities, athletics and the arts.
This is our goal and we are committed to achieving it,” Kelly said.
“Garry has a proven record as an extremely effective and highly respected high school principal, and we are excited to welcome him to Upland High.”
Cameron was principal at Port Angeles High School for five years, following a teaching career that began in Washington in 1999 and eventually led him to Southern California before returning to his native state of Washington for the past five years.
After teaching math and coaching girls’ tennis at Marysville-Pilchuck High School in Marysville, Wash., Cameron taught middle school math and high school social studies in the Hemet Unified School District from 2000-2002. He ascended to assistant principal at West Valley High School in Hemet in 2002 before returning to Washington in 2009 to be principal at Port Angeles High School.
“I’m very excited and happy to return to Southern California and to a community with great history and tradition. That pride is reflected at Upland High School, and I’m really looking forward to working with our team and to getting to meet our faculty, staff, students and families,” Cameron said.
“A high school is a special place in that we prepare students for their future. It’s important that we embrace our role, and do everything we can to make sure we prepare our students for the transition to a post-secondary certificate or a college education so they are able to be successful at the next level and beyond.”
Cameron led combat coordination and surface warfare teams as a Navy lieutenant during the first Persian Gulf War. He was an officer in the Navy before embarking on a career in education.
A graduate of the University of Washington with a bachelor’s degree in history, Cameron earned a master’s degree in teaching from the University of Puget Sound in 1996 and a doctorate in education through the University of Southern California in 2010.
Cameron and his wife Victoria plan to live in Upland, where their son, Garry Jr., will attend Upland High in the fall. Their daughter Kristina is a graduate of West Valley High in Hemet.
He replaces Ivan Ayro, who left the district at the end of the school year to become principal at Charter Oak High School in Covina.
Domonoske, who grew up and now lives in Claremont, has taught high school French since 1986, including the past 25 years at Upland High School. She has also filled a number of other roles at Upland High, including chair and course facilitator of the foreign language department, co-chair and focus group leader for the school’s WASC accreditation committee, and technology lead.
Since 1989, she has served on the high school’s curriculum, technology, restructuring and WASC committees, along with the Faculty Senate and the vision/mission task force. Prior to teaching at Upland High, she taught French at Los Angeles County High School of the Arts.
A graduate of Occidental College in Los Angeles with bachelor’s degrees in French and psychology, Domonoske later earned a master’s degree in French from Middlebury College in Vermont. She has a single subject teaching credential from California State San Bernardino and an administrative services credential from the University La Verne.
