ORANGE : Principal Honored by Administrators

El Modena High School Principal Gail Richards has been named Administrator of the Year by the Orange County chapter of the Assn. of California School Administrators.

“It was heartwarming to be recognized by my colleagues,” Richards said. “But the award doesn’t only belong to me. It’s a reflection of the wonderful things students are doing at El Modena.”

Richards, El Modena’s principal for the past five years, has spent her entire teaching career in the Orange Unified School District. She began as a student teacher at El Modena in 1972 and was eventually promoted to principal following teaching and administrative assignments.

“We’re very excited she received the honor. It’s well deserved,” said Sandy Cosgrove, a spokeswoman for El Modena’s Parent-Teacher Assn. “She’s a strong leader and very pro-academics.”

Perhaps the greatest challenge Richards has faced since taking over at El Modena has been the school’s demographically varied student body. Of El Modena’s 1,500 students, more than 300 are currently enrolled in limited-English proficiency classes. When Richards became principal, those students numbered barely more than a 100.

“It’s added another dimension to the needs of the student body,” Richards said.

To meet the school’s growing need for bilingual education, Richards presided over an expansion in the school’s language offerings, adding classes that distinguish between beginning and advanced English speakers.

Richards is also directing her teachers to restructure the curriculum to add career education for all students attending El Modena.

In addition to her academic innovations, Richards has also seen the school’s Advanced Placement test scores rise to the highest in the Orange Unified School District.

“What I like best about coming to school every day is the enthusiasm and the creativity of the students,” Richards said. “I get up and look forward to coming to work because I love my job.”

For Richards, the award comes as a welcome relief after nearly losing her Anaheim Hills home, which was among those damaged during the mid-January storms.

“There was a big loud knock on the front door at 4 p.m.,” Richards remembered. “And there were firemen standing there, saying we had 15 minutes to get out.”

The Richards family received permission to return to the house on March 30.

Richards will now compete for the Assn. of California School Administrator’s state secondary principal of the year, which will be announced in May.