The San Ramon Valley Unified School District Board of Education last week confirmed new permanent principals at five schools starting next school year.

The appointments, which will take effect July 1, include Megan Keefer at California High School, Bridget Vorhees at Charlotte Wood Middle School, Sylvie Bullard at Sycamore Valley Elementary School, Vanessa Cutler at Golden View Elementary and Carolyn Dobel at Live Oak Elementary.

With the new string of appointments, a decision has not yet been announced on who will become the new principal at Iron Horse Middle School. That position will become vacant when current principal Joe Nguyen takes his new position as the next principal at Pleasanton Middle School at the start of the 2019-20 school year.

Administrative appointments that the school district completed at last Tuesday's school board meeting were:

Megan Keefer -- Cal High

A longtime member of the school district, Keefer will be moving to San Ramon’s Cal High after most recently serving as an assistant principal at San Ramon Valley High School in Danville.

She began her teaching career in the SRVUSD in 2005 at the English department in Monte Vista High School, before transferring in 2007 to Dougherty Valley High, where in addition to teaching English, she served as a curriculum leader and teacher on special assignment until her return to Monte Vista as an assistant principal in 2015.

“Throughout her tenure, Megan has earned a reputation as an authentic, present and capable leader who values building relationships and exploring and developing systems. She influences and inspires others to achieve greatness and inspires a strong sense of hope and empowerment in the students with whom she works,” SRVUSD spokeswoman Elizabeth Graswich said.

Keefer is replacing principal Chris George, who will be stepping down from his position at the end of the 2018-19 school year to become the district’s new assistant director for secondary education.

Bridget Vorhees -- Charlotte Wood

After serving as Charlotte Wood’s interim principal for the past year, the district has announced that they like what Vorhees has been doing and she will be taking the big chair at the Danville school on a permanent basis.

An administrative veteran, Vorhees has worked as an assistant principal in the SRVUSD at both the middle and high school level for the last eight years, with her most recent prior post at Iron Horse Middle School. Prior to joining the SRVUSD, she worked as a vice principal at Walnut Creek Intermediate School and was a high school teacher and activities director in Acalanes Union High School District for five years.

“Bridget's extensive leadership experience at multiple levels have prepared her well for her new position,” Graswich said. "As interim at Charlotte Wood, Bridget has worked capably with staff to support and promote student engagement and excellence, developing PLC’s within departments and common formative/summative assessments, analyzing data and creating plans for students who struggle to meet proficiency standards.”

When Vorhees first became interim principal in September 2018, she replaced George who after eight years in Charlotte Wood, left for Cal High.

Sylvie Bullard -- Sycamore Valley

A newcomer to the district, prior to being appointed as Sycamore Valley’s new principal, she worked as an assistant principal at Burton Valley Elementary School in Lafayette, a position she held since 2016.

Bullard possess educational experience at a variety of levels, also having worked as an elementary teacher at Wagner Ranch Elementary School in Orinda for the 10 years that preceded her transition into the administrative office. She is also credited as being a teacher of teachers, through her Readers and Writers Workshop, where she has coached veteran and freshman teachers on classroom strategies.

“She has coached teachers to engage in the constantly evolving strategies of ‘workshop,’ helping to encourage students in the areas of curiosity, creativity, communication, critical thinking, and collaboration, and has served as a master teacher and induction provider for several credential candidates and new teachers,” Graswich said.

Bullard will be replacing Cher Situm, who Graswich said has “resigned for other career opportunities.”

Vanessa Cutler -- Golden View Elementary

A familiar face at Golden View, Cutler is expected to hit the ground running after having served as interim principal since September 2018, and previously serving as the assistant principal at Quail Run Elementary school for two years.

Cutler has a teaching background, having previously been employed as an elementary teacher in Dublin Unified, Castro Valley Unified and Soledad Unified school districts.

“Throughout her career, Vanessa has made many contributions to the schools and communities she’s served, eagerly taken on leadership roles and professional growth opportunities, and forged strong relationships with staff, students and families,” Graswich said. “She has a strong background in Response to Intervention and strongly believes in the importance of working together with all stakeholders to support the whole child, for social, emotional and academic growth.”

She has replaced Christine Huajardo, who left the school when she accepted a promotion to become an assistant director of elementary education for SRVUSD.

Carolyn Dobel -- Live Oak Elementary

Dobel will be heading up the administrative team at San Ramon’s Live Oak, after working as vice principal at Pleasanton Middle School for the past three years.

She has worked as a special education program supervisor with the SRVUSD for two years, and as a resource teacher at Live Oak for seven years. She has taught at Hayward Unified School District and at St. Philip Lutheran School in Dublin.

“As assistant principal, Carolyn demonstrated the ability to think critically, build relational trust among colleagues, and provide effective ongoing support to students, staff and families. Her familiarity with the Live Oak community and SRVUSD, combined with her extensive experience as a Special Education teacher and Program Supervisor, will make her a strong and compelling new addition to her school community and our administrative team,” Graswich said of Live Oak’s new leader.

Dobel will be replacing Nadine Rosenzweig who it was announced will be a new assistant director of elementary education for SRVUSD.