Sam Pasarow named as new Berkeley High principal

Caption goes here — Sam Pasarow will become Berkeley High School’s principal in July. Photo: Courtesy of BUSD

Sam Pasarow, an Oakland middle school principal, will be Berkeley High School’s new principal, starting in July, Berkeley Unified Superintendent Donald Evans announced at last night’s school board meeting.

Pasarow will take the helm from Kristen Glenchur, who has been interim principal since last summer. Pascuale Scuderi, who served as principal for four years, became assistant superintendent for educational services at BUSD last summer.

“Finding the right leader for Berkeley High School has been both challenging and exciting,” Evans said in a statement yesterday. “We had so many great candidates, and we were fortunate to have the involvement of teachers, administrators, board members and parents who participated in the interview process. I am very pleased with the outcome, and confident that the BHS community will find a strong educational leader in Principal Pasarow.”

“Mr. Pasarow impressed the interview panels with his student-centered commitments to quality education, equity and positive school culture,” said school board president Judy Appel. “We are very excited to work with him as he takes on the leadership of our exceptional high school.”

The school district did a brief search for a new principal in May, 2014, following Scuderi’s decision to switch posts. That search was abandoned because of an insufficient number of applicants, according to school district spokesman Mark Coplan. A new search was started in January this year, using search consultants the Cosca Group, to conduct a nationwide search for a new principal.

Pasarow became principal of Edna Brewer Middle School in Oakland Unified School District in 2009. Among OUSD middle schools, Edna Brewer has the the highest Academic Performance Index in 2012, the highest reading scores 2012-present, the highest common core math benchmark scores in the current school year, the lowest suspension rate for the past two school years, and the lowest rates of suspension for African-American students during the 2013-14 and current school year.

Pasarow did his masters in education at UC Berkeley, doing student teaching stints at Skyline High School and BHS. He started his teaching career at De Anza High School in West Contra Costa, before moving to OUSD. His undergraduate degree is also from UC Berkeley. He started his career in technology sales before returning to school to do his masters.

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Lance Knobel