.
Feedback

Ralston Has New Principal

Scott Carson comes to Belmont from Cabrillo, a K-8 Pacifica school; he will start his new job July 1.

 

When students return to class in the fall, they'll be greeted by their new principal, Scott Carson.

Carson's appointment was made at the May 17 meeting of the ) Board of Trustees meeting. His official start date will by July 1, 2012. The district made the formal announcement on Wednesday. He comes to BRSSD from the Pacifica school district.

Carson will fill the position vacated by in February to become the district's director of educational services.

The process of finding a new principal

According to BRSSD assistant superintendent, the district sought input from Ralston staff, parents and students on the qualities and characteristics they would like in their new principal. The position was posted in March on Ed Join, a California recruiting site for educators.

Following an initial paper screening of applicants, Roy said five candidates were selected for panel interviews. The panel included teachers, support staff, a parent, an elementary school principal, a Ralston administrator and a district director.

Three candidates were then selected for a final interview, which were conducted by a panel that included the superintendent, assistant superintendents, and two board members.

Personnel began conducting reference checks as soon as the final candidates were moved forward. The board reported the appointment of Scott Carson following a closed session at its May 17 meeting.

Most recently served as principal of Cabrillo in Pacifica

For the past six years, Scott Carson has been served as principal of Cabrillo, a K-8 school in the Pacifica School District where he implemented a variety of strategies to engage the students and prepare them for the 21st century work environment.

Carson helped develop a discipline policy that improved school climate and provided consistency and improved accountability. During his tenure in Pacifica, Carson has chaired the Language Arts and Math Committees, served on the District negotiating team and as management liaison for the Pacifica Education Foundation and a successful parcel tax campaign.

The education of a principal

Carson earned his Masters of Arts in Education Administration from San Francisco State University, a Masters of Arts in English from Humboldt State University, and his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Tufts University. 

His teaching experience spans the range of upper elementary, high school and university, including serving as assistant principal at Lowell High School in San Francisco where he managed the counseling office, deans, attendance, and Special Education Department.

Ready for the Rams

Impressed with the high level of student achievement, parental involvement, and talented and dedicated staff at Ralston, Carson said he believes “Strong leadership requires the ability to listen to all stakeholders, forge alliances among disparate groups, and leverage a site’s strengths to assist in areas that need development.” 

When not attending all of the school functions and enthusiastically supporting students and staff, Carson said he enjoys reading, tennis, hiking, music, and following basketball.

Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook |Sign up for our daily newsletter | Blog for us

Newsletter & Alerts

Get the best stories each day and important breaking news

Subscribe

Not from Belmont Patch? Find your Local Patch »

Loading comments ...
Note Article
Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
DJ May 20, 2013 at 05:51 am
Please come to the San Mateo City Council meeting tonight at 7:00 or shortly after and voice yourRead More concern about replacing our community's skating rink with a retail store. Bring something to read/do while we wait for our turn to speak. City of San Mateo 330 West 20th Avenue San Mateo, CA 94403 dina.artzt@comcast.net if you are interested in updates on our cause.
CP May 15, 2013 at 10:05 am
The City has spent time working with the developer, behind closed doors it would seem, yet inputRead More from the public was an afterthought due to MANY families showing up at a May 6 City Council Meeting (not on the Agenda, yet rink to close June 1 !) So many kids spoke so sincerely and eloquently how the closure would hurt them and their friends. Does San Mateo City Hall care about the residents of our community? Especially the children. City Hall has the upper hand (the Master Plan agreement), we expect them to step up. Why has City Hall allowed SPI to make the children of our community suffer so much agony and pain over this process? Shame on City Hall for letting this drag out !!
CP May 13, 2013 at 02:30 am
Don't give up....the kids are worth it! It is wrong for SPI to be in non-compliance with the masterRead More plan. City Hall should be filing some type of injunction to stop closure of the ice center....this is not right. Repeat of what happened with 7 Eleven on North San Mateo Drive when the developer ignored our City ordinances/plans. Why is this happening again in our City of San Mateo?
Z April 5, 2013 at 03:23 pm
I suggest contacting Menlo Park Presbyterian Churh 650.323.8600 or Peninsula Covenant Church (650)Read More 365-8094 Blessings to you!
Linda Thomas April 5, 2013 at 03:14 pm
Eileen, you are heartily invited to visit the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Redwood City. WeRead More are a welcoming, caring group of about 177 people who find music, laughter, social, intellectual and social action pursuits to be eminently spiritual. Our services are at 10:30 a.m. Sundays at 2124 Brewster St. Best work advice at this time is to keep checking Craig's List, the Peninsula section, under both Etc. and part-time jobs.
Joc C May 14, 2013 at 06:49 pm
Parents supporting Redwood Shores Schools for Redwood Shores Kids, very well said. You have my fullRead More support.
Pearl April 29, 2013 at 06:51 pm
Thanks for sharing, Ari!!!! It's been my experience that when you volunteer, you get back way moreRead More than you give! Thanks for the great example you are setting for us all.
Kelly O'Dea April 29, 2013 at 06:23 pm
Ari-Thanks for sharing the adventures of your volunteering projects! You are a great inspiration toRead More our entire community and we are all very proud to have you as a spokesperson on how volunteering can make a huge impact! Thank you very much! Keep on having fun!
Joan S. Dentler (Editor) April 29, 2013 at 04:13 pm
This is a great reminder that any other local volunteers who would like to share their projects withRead More the community may do so on Belmont Patch! Simply email the editor at joan.dentler@patch.com. Great job Ari!
KP May 2, 2013 at 09:43 pm
Again, thank you Brian for this great article about Nesbit. I'm unsure of how it turned into aRead More sounding board for the petulant to vent but those of us who know how wonderful Nesbit is sure appreciate your article.
Joc C May 2, 2013 at 09:30 pm
API of 800 is not bad but parents are comparing it with other schools in the district. There areRead More other issues that make parents unhappy. The residents in RWS and Belmont Shores are paying property tax which contributes to the building of RWSE. There is an expectation that their kids will go to the kids they help fund. The RWS parents are unhappy because they were told they would not be affected by the no boundary policy. Then, a year later 26 families are affected. No one like surprises. The board's decision to use a 'walking distance' algorithm to promote neighborhood schools is not working. Well, hypothetically if Nesbit API is over 900 and the other schools has API of 800, would we still have this discussion? We would not know for sure but something to think about if API is a factor among others.
Brannigan May 2, 2013 at 08:40 pm
I just moved into the neighborhood behind Iron Gate and we bought in Belmont because of the schools.Read More I am kinda shocked to find people bashing Nesbit. The API score is over 800, has great diversity, and the location seems to be pretty convenient. Our son has 2 more years before he starts, but we wouldn't mind one bit if we ended up at Nesbit. What's the difference of 100 points on API that an extra 5 minutes of father-son tutoring time can't fix. Besides, we all end up at Ralston and Carlmont anyways. To me, those are the schools that matter most.
Karen Haas-Foletta May 6, 2013 at 03:32 pm
We have an on-site after care program at Ralson Middle School. Middle School youth are not too oldRead More to be in aftercare. The youth have a chance to exercise, eat a healthy snack, get their homework done, do arts and crafts, be with their friends and most importantly be in a safe, secure and educational environment. We have around 35 youth enrolled on Wednesdays and room for more if anyone is interested. The program is called Footsteps@RAMS.
Joe May 2, 2013 at 11:19 pm
You have to love the Patch, there is always someone complaining about public education. The schoolsRead More really must have failed all of you, because you don't know how to Google anything to educate yourself before you spew your negative opinions. Below are a couple of links that will help you learn. The first informs you of what minimum days are actually for and the second tells you legally why all schools in the county either have them or have shorter school years. For those of you that aren't the best readers or researchers I'll just tell you that BRSSD adheres to the required instructional minutes in the state. In fact, it is actually over in some grade levels. If you don't feel like believing the information I provided or don't like BRSSD's policy I've also linked the District's website so you can contact the administration or the board members. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-minimum-day.htm#did-you-know http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/au/ag/reducingit.asp http://www.brssd.org
Old Timer May 1, 2013 at 05:05 pm
Was nice when children actually did chores and became responsible young adults with a part time jobRead More to manage finances.
Laura Klieves May 8, 2013 at 03:01 am
I'm just now reading this, and haveapizza, I resent that you think that Nesbit parents aren'tRead More involved in their kids' education. I've been involved since my kids started school, and I know many others who are involved too. Oh, and my kids are accountable for their education. Stop bashing Nesbit.
Linda April 29, 2013 at 03:20 am
The current situation is much worse because these are permanent assignments, not just one-yearRead More assignments.
Amy Koo April 29, 2013 at 02:57 am
We will be sharing the latest petition results with the board on May 2nd, so please show yourRead More support by signing if you haven't already. There are only 7 K seats available at Nesbit to handle all of Phase 2 and Phase 3 enrollment. Rather delaying the decision, the board should be proactive and approve the 4th K class at Sandpiper at the May 2nd meeting so that Sandpiper staff can prepare for that additional K class, and parents can move on to collaborating with the district on long term solutions for over-enrollment.
Steve Hayes April 15, 2013 at 03:27 pm
Seems like there is something wrong with this picture - two dogs being way too polite. The focus ofRead More their attention should be on those bones and the bones should be in less than pristine condition!
Joan S. Dentler (Editor) April 15, 2013 at 11:18 am
Good one Ronald!
Ronald Veronda April 14, 2013 at 10:44 pm
Just remember, God is Dog spelled backwards.