After serving as an assistant principal at DVHS for three years, the SRVUSD Board of Education appointed Lauren Falkner to the position of principal at their Jan. 31 meeting, which was vacant following Evan Powell’s promotion.
After pursuing a degree in molecular and cell biology at the University of Connecticut, Falkner initially explored a career in research. However, the limited opportunities for social interaction in the lab caused her to crave more.
“I ended up working for this innovation group, but everyone there told me I sounded like a teacher,” Falkner said. “Everybody’s been saying to me all along in my life, you should be a teacher. So, at that point, I decided I might as well go for it.”
Falkner got her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction and began teaching Biology at a high school in Connecticut. Three years after that, Falkner moved to California, where she intended to continue working in education.
“After I moved out here, I spent one year teaching middle school science,” she stated. “However, I quickly discovered that as a teacher, middle school was not my niche. So I went in and interviewed at California High School, where I was hired by [Bob] Spain.”
During her time as a Biology teacher at California High, Falkner was offered the opportunity to serve as the school’s admin TSA (Teacher on Special Assignment), which sparked her interest in an administrative role.
“I got to work with a whole variety of students as opposed to just the students in my classes, and I liked being able to have a wider impact on the school community and students,” she stated.
Having liked the administrative side of education, Falkner then decided to get her admin credential at Charlotte Wood Middle School. But even though she had hopped around schools in the district, she had always wanted to work at DVHS.
“When I was brand new to California, and I was going around to explore, I passed Dougherty Valley and it reminded me of the high school I attended back in Connecticut,” Falkner explained. “And I remember saying to myself, I’m going to work there someday.”
Having fallen in love with the DVHS campus years prior, when the opportunity came about to apply, Falkner jumped at the chance to join the staff. She joined DVHS as an assistant principal in the fall of 2019.
“I just knew the caliber of teachers that were here and I wanted to move into high school administration after having been at middle school for three years,” she elaborated. “So when the opportunity finally presented itself, I was fortunate enough that Mr. Kravitz decided to bring me on board with the team.”
As assistant principal, Falkner played an active role in tasks such as course scheduling and AP testing coordination. Now that she has been promoted to the position of principal, with no concrete replacement for her old role, she has been dealing with the responsibilities of both.
“Right now, it’s kind of a balancing act, as I feel like I’m straddling both roles right now,” Falkner stated. “But I’m taking it one day at a time and I have lots of resources and support. I’m fortunate in the sense that if there’s something unexpected that arises, I’ll have people to bounce ideas off of and be able to process and move forward.”
Even though Falkner is still adjusting to the roles and responsibilities of the principal role, she already has a short-term to-do list.
“I’m currently working on advocating for the parcel tax and implementing WASC recommendations with the staff,” she explained.
But the issue she really wants to tackle? Course selection.
“We [administrators] have spent a lot of time talking to students and talking to families that are struggling,” she explained. “And then we go look at their course schedule, and they’re taking five to seven weighted classes. High school should be a time when you get to explore and have fun. I would love to see our students take more classes that they’re passionate about.”
The competitive nature of DVHS is no secret within the community, and yet, its negative effects on student’s social and emotional wellness still prevail.
“I remember working with a kiddo and talking about what they were thinking about taking their senior year,” Falkner recounted. “And they were like, I’m going to take AP Physics and I’m going to take AP Chemistry. So I asked, ‘Well, are you going to be a STEM major?’ And he said, ‘No, I want to go into political science.’”
Not only does uninformed course selection hurt students, but it also makes it difficult for administration to schedule classes for the next year.
“Once we’ve already rolled out the master schedule for courses, and you’ve committed to a class, it makes it very difficult for us to accommodate you if you drop those classes,” Falkner explained.
To deal with such a prevalent issue, Falkner has taken the initiative to put multiple measures into place.
On February 6, at the DVHS library, the PTSA is putting on a panel,” she explained. “So we’re having counselors, teachers, parents, alumni, and students, and we’re going to hear different perspectives talk about the course selection process and their experiences.”
In addition to the PTSA panel, the DVHS counseling department will be hosting parent/guardian information nights this year, covering course selection and student preparation for the upcoming school year.
But perhaps the most important new measure that Falkner is implementing is a Google Form, sent out in July, that will ask students to confirm their course selection.
“If there’s a class that you signed up for in March and you realized you actually didn’t want to take it, you would fill out this Google Form and let us know you want to make a change to your selection,” she explained.
However, Falkner’s vision isn’t limited to the short term. She has a grand vision for the future.
“I would love to see us broaden our definition of success,” she explains. “In a way, we’ve pigeonholed ourselves into being this strictly academically focused school. I think there’s so many there’s so much more potential for a lot of our students too, and sometimes it just feels really like the only thing that we’re successful at is academics. We have to continue that legacy, but we can also expand programs like CTE pathways or work experience, so we excel in other places.”
In the meantime, Falkner plans to work towards this goal by being a guide for staff and leading as effectively as possible.
“My goal as an administrator here is to remove as many roadblocks from our staff as possible so that they can do their job effectively,” she explained. “So they need resources, if teachers need materials or resources, I figure out a way to get that to them so that they can focus on what they do best- teaching.”
Now, Falkner looks towards the future of DVHS with high hopes.
“I love this community,” Falkner stated. “And I know if we work together, we can achieve all our goals.”
