Cold Spring School District trustees have unanimously appointed Amy Alzina as the new superintendent/principal.
Alzina is principal of Adams Elementary School in the Santa Barbara Unified School District and will start at Cold Spring on July 10.
“Amy Alzina is a visionary leader who is passionate about serving the children and families of our community,” Cold Spring School District leaders said in a statement after Monday’s board of trustees meeting. “She will continue to build on our current strengths, address our areas of growth, and be able lead through trust and collaboration to continue the excellent education that is provided for our children.
“Her greatest attributes are her knowledge of curriculum and instruction as well as her interpersonal relationship skills. We view her appointment as a sign of our commitment to lead Cold Spring School District to be the very best we can be.”
Cold Spring is a one-school, K-6 district located at 2243 Sycamore Canyon Road in Santa Barbara.
Current Superintendent/Principal Tricia Price announced in December that she would be leaving the district in June.
Santa Barbara Unified will start advertising now for a new principal at Adams Elementary, district spokeswoman Lauren Bianchi Klemann said.
The district feels confident it can make a hire by mid-June, she said.
“We’ve done the process already with two principals this year; we think we can achieve that,” she said, referring to the mid-year hirings of principals for McKinley Elementary and Dos Pueblos High School. Both of those were inside hires.
Superintendent Cary Matsuoka plans to hold meetings with Adams Elementary stakeholders, including parents and staff, as part of the recruitment effort.
“(Alzina) served eight years at Adams and is definitely recognized for being a strong advocate,” Bianchi Klemann said. “She had her children go through Adams Elementary, and is providing leadership there, so this is a really exciting opportunity for her.”
In her time at Adams, Alzina helped develop the district’s transitional kindergarten program, managed the school’s one-to-one iPad pilot program and saw the long-awaited construction of a bond-funded library on the campus.
— Noozhawk managing editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.