After years of being outside of the District, Dr. Jonathan Penuliar is looking forward to being back as Poway High School’s new Principal. Penuliar was announced at the May 20 board meeting.
“I was born and raised in San Diego, went to Poway schools as a kid, and now I’m back home serving in the community where I grew up,” Penuliar said.
Throughout his career, Penuliar has developed extensive knowledge in the field of education. This includes a bachelor in communications and English from UC Santa Barbara, a masters in Secondary Education and a doctorate in Educational Leadership from UC San Diego. However, his expertise doesn’t end there. Penuliar has several years of field experience at many notable schools, like San Diego High School, Morse High School, and most recently, Jefferson Middle School for three years.
In recent years, Penuliar has been teaching at the Oceanside Unified School District, but embraces the move back to the Poway District and Poway High School specifically because of its rich history and importance to the district.
“Poway is my home. I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to give back to the district that has shaped me in so many positive ways, both as a student and a teacher… I’m just so thankful for the opportunity to be named the next principal of Poway High School,” Penuliar said.
Part of his history in Poway includes working at Twin Peaks Middle School for seven years, where he taught eighth-grade English, GATE English, yearbook, and Theatre class.
Some of his goals are to target the well-being of students and staff.
“Building on the collective efforts of students, families, and staff, and taking Poway to the next level is something I look forward to as I transition into my new position here. I really look forward to working with our whole school community in finding ways to give all our students every opportunity to succeed,” Penuliar said.
Outside of school, Penuliar enjoys fishing, horseback riding, and cheering on the Padres. He also has a miniature schnauzer named Marley.
