Dr. Nick Stephany rises at 5:30 a.m., runs three to five miles and then takes his two children to preschool. By 7 a.m., he’s behind the new Palos Verdes High School principal is at his desk answering emails and returning phone calls.
Stephany adjusted quickly to his new position. He was formerly the school’s associate principal.
In selecting the new principal for PVHS, Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District Superintendant Walker Williams said, “The District was looking for an instructional leader, someone who would assist the school with building upon its highly successful record. Dr. Stephany will not be satisfied with the status quo, but plans to enhance the educational programs at the school so that all students have the 21st Century skills necessary to make them successful in college or the workplace. He also has the required people skills to carry out his vision, despite all of the issues related to budget.”
“Though he is only 31 years old, Nick has been at PVHS for six years, four in administration. accomplished much,” added PVPUSD School Board Member Dora De La Rosa. “Over the last few years Nick has been instrumental in the every day running of the school. Nick has earned the trust and respect of his staff, students and parent community.”
Stephany recognizes that he has taken over the helm at a pivotal juncture. He believes every organization needs to revaluate its priorities and core mission every nine or ten years.
“My job is to fine tune some of our priorities, to be sure that student learning is the emphasis,” stated Stephany. “It’s a realignment project. The core of what we are doing is great; we need to brush up around the edges.”
“We have a brand new administration and have brought a new sense of energy to the school,” said Stephany. He added that the newly appointed associate principals, Trista Ramirez and Brent Kuykendall, are key members of his team.
Stephany has identified five major goals. 1. Put academics first and improve the overall standard of education, 2. Do more with less in light of budget cuts, 3. Foster a culture that is welcoming to all students, 4. Apply consistent discipline across the board, and 5. Improve the relationship between PVHS and Palos Verdes Peninsula High School.
Stephany grew up in California’s Central Valley and was the quarterback on his high schools football team. The older of two boys, Stephany majored in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of California Davis. Nick’s mother was a PTSA president, turned teacher, and currently is an elementary school principal. His father is a behavior analyst, evaluating autistic children for school districts and county education agencies.
He cites his father, his high school football coach and past PVHS principal Chris Bowles as the three people who have influenced him the most.
After graduating from college in 2002, Stephany began his career in education as a substitute teacher. He describes his first teaching day at an economically disadvantaged school as a complete disaster. There was no lesson plan left by the teacher, and kids tried to skateboard into class.
His first full time position was in the Central Valley. For two years, he taught high school science, coached football, basketball and track.
Wanderlust struck Stephany when he was 24. Stephany’s parents had been Peace Corps volunteers in the Philippines. He was accepted into WorldTeach, a non-profit organization associated with the Center for International Development at Harvard University. Soon, Nick was living on a tiny atoll in the Marshall Islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. He lived without electricity, running water, phone, or internet and taught English to elementary school students. He was the first non-Pacific Islander to live on the remote island in 20 years.
Stephany enjoyed the slow pace for a few weeks but needed more to do. He coached a basketball team and boosted community involvement in education by overseeing the development of a parents association. He realized that it’s okay to be lonely, that he wasn’t adept at foreign languages and that good administration is vital for students to thrive. He decided to continue teaching back in the states, with the goal of becoming an administrator. While teaching in the Marshall Islands, he met his future wife, Cristina, another teaching volunteer who was from the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
They began teaching in the PVPUSD in 2005. Nick taught biology and chemistry at PVHS and Cristina taught English for three years at Peninsula High School. She currently teaches at Ridgecrest Intermediate School.
For two seasons, Stephany coached PVHS’s junior varsity football team. In 2007, he was named dean of students and then associate principal two years later. Among his many other responsibilities, Stephany developed a data driven learning center that increased student reading proficiency and he managed the advanced placement and honors programs. He oversaw the development of PVHS’s academic decathlon team which won Rookie School of the Year in 2010. In addition, Stephany facilitated the reorganization of the school’s technology department and in 2009, he received the PVHS Honorary Service Award.
Chris Bowles, who reopened PVHS in 2002 and served as principal until last June said, “Nick is the right person for several reasons. He is bright, well organized and he has very solid communication skills. He understands the challenges.”
