by Mark McDermott
Twenty years ago, when Karina Gerger applied for a job within the Manhattan Beach Unified School District, she had the distinct feeling this wasn’t going to happen. She arrived at district headquarters with her resume, hopeful, but left without talking to a person.
“I put my application in a basket, with no one in the front office,” Gerger recalled at the June 18 school board meeting.
The educational career that unfurled ahead of her would have been unfathomable to Gerger, who was surprised enough when she heard back from MBUSD and was subsequently hired as its English Language Learner (ELL) coordinator. It was the first of eight positions Gerger would hold within MBUSD, culminating in a remarkable three-year tenure as the principal of Mira Costa High School, one that began as the school was tentatively emerging from the pandemic and ended with the school reaching ever-higher academic heights.
Gerger left MBUSD last month after she was named Director of Personnel at Paramount Unified School District. The Board of Education honored her at its June 18 meeting. Trustees and colleagues were exceptionally effusive in their praise for what she had given the district over the last two decades, and particularly during her time as Mira Costa’s principal.
“The energy that you brought to that campus has just been unparalleled,” said Cathey Graves, board president. “It is the collaboration, the support you have provided for each and every one of our students through your entire career, and over the last number of years at Costa. She has benefited our children and that campus to such a great degree, and we are so thankful.”
Like several others who spoke, trustee Wysh Weinstein said Gerger had a way of lifting all those around her.
“You just always have a smile on your face,” said Weinstein. “It’s just so inspiring. You have this ability to raise the bar a little bit, and everyone just kind of rises up with you. You build a sense of accountability, but also compassion, and every situation that comes up, you’re like, ´Okay, let’s look at this. Let’s figure this out together.’ It’s just really exceptional.”
“I just know her game face, when she is like, on it,” said Trustee Tina Shivpuri, who struggled to hold back tears. “And we needed that, all the time, in the classrooms and on campuses. I am so grateful for what you brought to MBUSD.”
“You embody institutional knowledge,” said Trustee Jen Fenton. “You are an advocate for our students, you are a supporter for our staff, you are the cheerleader for all things extracurricular, you show up for banquets, you travel to tournaments. You are Mira Costa, and your presence is felt. And it will be missed.”
“Not only is your presence felt, your presence is everywhere, and all of the time,” said Trustee Bruce Greenberg. “Over the last couple years, I’ve just been blown away. No matter when I am at Mira Costa, no matter what it’s for, whether it is during the school day, whether it’s for the Scholar Quiz, whether it’s on a Friday night for a volleyball or a football game — it doesn’t matter what’s going on, Karina is there. Karina is always in control, and it’s been remarkable. I mean, you’ve just thrown 120% of yourself into this role over the last couple of years, and obviously over the last 20 years. So thank you.”
Superintendent John Bowes said he took the helm of the district at the same time Gerger took over at Mira Costa, and he leaned on her institutional knowledge to help navigate early challenges.
“Karina and I both started in our current roles about the same time,” Bowes said. “I did not have the benefit of 17 years of prior experience, so I relied on Karina for any number of history questions about the district, whether it’s elementary, middle, high school. district office, she was just a font of knowledge, always willing to share. Thank you for your leadership of a school that’s almost half the size of the district. You ran a small city and did it very well.”
Hilary Mahan, executive director of the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation, particularly praised Gerger for her leadership in what was called “the Costa Comeback” after the year of classroom learning lost in the pandemic lockdown.
“We have seen our schools flourish, especially Mira Costa, and it was at a time when it really needed to flourish,” Mahan said. “We were coming out of Covid, and you taking it by the reins and really leading and collaborating with staff and leading and collaborating with students has just been tremendous. Academic achievement has soared, extracurricular programs have expanded, and the bonds of our community have grown even stronger — stronger together, right? The Costa Comeback…. You have profoundly shaped Mira Costa into what it is today.”
In an interview, Gerger said she is still surprised at her career trajectory.
“When I first started, I never thought that I would get to the point of being the principal of Mira Costa High School,” she said. “And I was blessed to really have those 20 years where I had the privilege of holding all those positions. I learned so much about Manhattan Beach Unified School District, and I was able to carry it forward all the way up to Mira Costa. It was extremely cool, and helpful.”
Gerger began her career in Riverside, where she’d attended high school and the University of California Riverside, as an elementary teacher. She spent her first five years teaching 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades at Riverside Unified, and later taught 5th grade at Pacific Elementary in Manhattan Beach. She also spent four years as a teacher on special assignments at MBUSD, as part of the district’s 21st Century Teaching and Learning initiative that brought iPad’s to classrooms. Gerger’s dream had always been to be in a classroom.
“I always thought I would be a teacher,” Gerger said. “I grew up from a young age playing school with the neighborhood kids. And, you know, just always absolutely loved it, loved my teachers. And when I got to college, I knew exactly what I would be doing. I knew I was going to get my credential, and I knew I was going to go into teaching. I absolutely did, and every minute of it.”
But Gerger also found several mentors within MBUSD who encouraged her to take on leadership roles, including former assistant superintendent Carolyn Seaton. She obtained her doctorate in educational leadership from Cal State Long Beach in 2014, and that year was named assistant principal of Manhattan Beach Middle School. The following year she became assistant principal at Mira Costa, then spent four years as principal of Pennekamp Elementary. She was appointed as principal at Mira Costa in 2021.
“I just jumped on every opportunity that came my way,” Gerger said. “I’m a lifelong learner, and just wanted to continue to learn and grow. And through many of the positions that I held, I’ve still been able to work with students directly. In my 25 years in education, I always worked directly with students, except one year that I was mentoring teachers. I’ve loved every minute of it. And it was very hard to move on, leaving Mira Costa, because I knew it was the last time that I would be working at a school site and with students now moving to a district office. So it’s bittersweet, because the students are why we do the work.”
Paramount Unified is a large school district, with 19 schools and over 13,000 students, that is almost a mirror image of MBUSD insofar as it is considered a 100 percent minority school district (less than 1 percent white, and 88.6 percent Hispanic/Latino) with 60 percent of its student population economically disadvantaged, according to US News and World Report.
Gerger is excited for the challenge.
“When I first started teaching, my first five years, I taught in Riverside Unified School District, working with all English language learners in my classrooms,” Gerger said. “And then I went to Manhattan Beach, which had a completely different population, and it was amazing to be there, as well. But now I feel like I’m circling back to where I first started, and I’m excited to work with the students and staff and community here in Paramount, and also to use my Spanish again.”
This step is also one that will give her more experience towards one day becoming a superintendent, though Gerger stops short of identifying that as a goal. But Hilary Mahan, who worked with Gerger for much of the last two decades, hinted at the school board meeting that perhaps one day she could return to MBUSD in such a leadership role.
“I’ve worked with you in so many different roles, and you’ve been the heart and soul of every school campus that you touched,” Mahan said. “It’s very true that, yes, you are omnipresent, and you are always everywhere. But you notice the smile first, and that’s what just brings people together. Your ability to connect people is truly what’s outstanding.”
“I think you’re going to be remarkable in your role,” Mahan said. “And I don’t think you will forget us, because I think you’re going to come back in another few years.” ER
