Mitchell to lead high school district

When classes resume at Fallbrook High School on Monday, members of the Warrior football team in particular are bound to be pleased to hear about the district’s new superintendent, Dr. Dale Mitchell. Little did they expect a former professional football player to be the new superintendent.

Mitchell, who has served as district superintendent for the Winters Joint Unified School District for the past seven years, has been selected by the board of trustees to lead Fallbrook Union High School District (FUHSD).

The superintendent’s position has been available since Tom Anthony’s buyout by the district board in January. Dr. Robert French has assisted the district by serving as interim superintendent until the new selection was made.

Mitchell, who was raised in Carlsbad and graduated from Carlsbad High School in 1971, studied education at the University of Southern California and played football for the Trojans. In 1975, he was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers and played for the professional team until 1977.

As it turns out, it seems his passion to serve the community was stronger than Mitchell’s desire to play football, and he gravitated toward a career as an educator.

“I studied education because those people who were teachers and coaches made a significant impact in my life,” Mitchell said. “I wanted an opportunity to contribute to society and give back to the community; I found this by going into education.”

Mitchell began teaching after his third year with the 49ers, which was the 1978-1979 school year. Now, as he prepares for the 2008-2009 school year in Fallbrook, the same drive that pushed Mitchell to teach originally continues to motivate him as he prepares to take the helm of FUHSD.

Mitchell is excited to move back into the area that he grew up in and has “always considered the [Fallbrook] community to be a desirable community to work and live in.”

When Mitchell heard there was an opportunity available in the district, he was interested in “new challenges and opportunities as a superintendent” as well as the chance to live closer to family members.

Dr. Mitchell’s years in education have helped him hone skills and talents that are necessary in order to not only help and support students in achieving academic success but also foster positive teacher-district negotiations.

Because the Winters Joint Unified School District has an ethnically diverse student population that includes a large English language learner population, Mitchell is aware of teaching strategies that are more effective than others and what should be considered and implemented to increase the success of these students.

Mitchell is planning several opportunities for teachers (and others working with the English language learners) to talk about what strategies have already been explored and implemented and see what strategies exist that haven’t been considered yet in the district. He hopes to help facilitate the process students are going through to learn the English language in order to help them be “more successful academically.”

When it comes to teacher-district negotiations, Mitchell thinks that an environment of trust and respect during negotiations can be achieved by already having a positive relationship of trust on a day-to-day basis with the teachers and other district employees.

Mitchell feels that the district has a responsibility to be knowledgeable of the interests and concerns of employee groups and associations; he hopes that future negotiations will be “win-win situations” benefiting students, employees and the district as a whole.

Dr. Mitchell says he is looking forward to meeting the students and Fallbrook community members as well as becoming a part of the Fallbrook family. He will officially assume the role of superintendent on September 2.

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