Schools to swap chiefs

Costa Mesa’s middle schools are expected to trade principals this year, with TeWinkle Middle School Principal Dan Diehl and Costa Mesa Middle School Principal Kirk Bauermeister set to move to each other’s campuses in July.

Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard said the Newport-Mesa Unified School District’s administrators had called for the switch, wanting to give each principal a career break. Diehl and Bauermeister, both of whom attended Newport-Mesa schools as children, announced to their school communities late last week that they would be moving.

“We believe it’s in the best interest of those schools based on our review of where Dan and Kirk are in their careers, what their aspirations are,” Hubbard said. “They believe, and we believe, it would be a good fit.”

Bauermeister, who has worked for nine years at Costa Mesa Middle School — part of the campus of his alma mater, Costa Mesa High School — said he was looking forward to taking the reins at TeWinkle. He added that he had fond memories of the school from his youth.

“I went to Davis Elementary when it was a middle school, but we competed against TeWinkle and it was a great school,” Bauermeister said. “I think it still is.”

Diehl, who attended Paularino Elementary School in the 1970s, is finishing his third year at TeWinkle. He said he was sad to leave TeWinkle but looked forward to taking on a new challenge.

“I think it’s a fantastic opportunity,” Diehl said. “At the same time, I have mixed emotions because, obviously, I’ve put a lot of effort into working here at TeWinkle. The people here have been wonderful. I’m really going to miss them.”

As principal, Diehl has reinstated the school newspaper, sent student teams to the Los Angeles Marathon and opened a parent center on campus. His tenure at TeWinkle, though, has been rocky on occasion. In 2005, he was the target of two complaints with the federal Office for Civil Rights — the first from teacher Enrique Odé, who claimed that Diehl had dismissed him unfairly, and the second from parent Mirna Burciaga, who accused school administrators of discriminating against Latinos. Diehl prevailed in both cases.

TeWinkle PTA President Vicki Snell described Diehl Monday as a hardworking principal who had changed TeWinkle for the better.

“I could see a huge difference just in the second year I was there,” she said. “He tried to do the best for our school, and he made a lot of progress. It’s a much better school than it was three years ago before he came.”

Costa Mesa PTA President Joyce Christiansen had similar praise for Bauermeister.

“He’s phenomenal,” she said. “He’s great, and he really works well with the students. I’m kind of sad to see him leaving.”