The leadership at Manhattan Beach schools will look a great deal different in the fall, following a major transition announced on Tuesday afternoon by Manhattan Beach Unified School District Superintendent Mike Matthews.

Four MBUSD principals will essentially rotate jobs under the new plan:

• Nancy Doyle (current principal of Robinson) will be the new principal of Grand View Elementary School;
• Rhonda Steinberg (current principal of Grand View) will be the new principal of Pacific Elementary School;
  
• Kim Linz (current principal of Pacific) will be the new principal of Manhattan Beach MIddle School;
  
• John Jackson (current principal of MBMS) will be the new principal of Robinson Elementary School.

"I believe that as leaders and learners, the optimal window for one principalship is between five and eight years," wrote Matthews in a letter to parents. "The learning curve in a new position is extremely sloped in the first two years, and I believe it takes at least three years for a leader to start making an impact and that the learning curve begins to flatten out after eight years. Even when that curve flattens out, principals can continue to be model leaders, but I believe that change can catalyze new growth, energize a school community, and maintain optimal conditions for student learning and professional development."

Matthews noted that a district's schools are stronger when they learn from each other. "With that in mind...I am making these personnel moves because I believe that our principals will take what they have learned from their experiences at their current sites and use it to provide even more impact at their new schools. They will grow professionally from these moves, our employees will benefit from new leadership perspectives, and our district, our schools, and our community will benefit from the broader perspectives these changes will provide to all of us," he wrote.

Jackson reached out to the MBMS community with the news on Monday afternoon. "Fifty years ago I stepped on Robinson Elementary’s campus for the first time as a wide-eyed kindergartener.  Now I have made the circle complete," he wrote. "I look forward to utilizing my skills and knowledge from my twenty-five year career in education to make a positive impact on the students at Robinson."

Matthews noted that each of the principals would be reaching out to his or her new school "very soon."