Improvements completed and new staff members will greet students.

By Mary O’KEEFE

The 2026-27 school year begins on Aug. 19 at public schools within the Glendale Unified School District (GUSD). Last week CVW covered traffic and how it will increase on local streets, affecting not just those who have students in school but for general traffic as well. 

There are a few things that the GUSD administration is anticipating, including laying the groundwork for launching the district’s eighth Dual Language Immersion program, Western Armenian, at Glenoaks Elementary beginning in the 2027–28 school year. The program reflects the district’s ongoing commitment to expanding educational opportunities while celebrating the rich cultural diversity of the local community. Additionally, there were new math adoptions for the year, Curriculum Associates for grades kindergarten through grade five and Amplify for grades six through eight, according to a GUSD spokesperson. 

Some improvements at Crescenta Valley High School were completed over the summer including the addition of a new pool deck and the installation of nearby bleachers. 

It is important to note that there will be no food deliveries except at lunch at Crescenta Valley High School. All food deliveries that come outside of lunch will be held in the main office until lunch or after school. The school does offer free lunch and breakfast at school everyday.  

All students must have their physical school identification at all times. All visitors must check in through the “raptor” system at the front door. Driver’s licenses or other forms of photo identification are required at the time. 

Back to School night is scheduled on Sept. 10. 

A virtual parent meeting for all ninth grade parents and parents of new students to CVHS will be tonight, Thursday, Aug. 13 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Video call link is https://meet.google.com/wvg-rfvj-wco or people can dial: (US) +1 646-588-0905 PIN: 826 193 752#.
More phone numbers are available at https://tel.meet/wvg-rfvj-wco?pin=7682288488415.

The parking lots at Rosemont Middle School and Dunsmore Elementary School were resurfaced and new roofs were completed for Lincoln, Jefferson and Glenoaks elementary schools. 

According to Rosemont Middle School Principal Suzanne Risse, “One change is that we are adding a Health and Science Academy, which will have students learning in a modular environment about various topics in health and sciences. It is funded by district CTE (Career and Technical Education) and will feed into the Crescenta Valley High School Health and Medicine pathway.”

There are also some staffing changes throughout the district including the addition of David Beard as athletic coordinator at Hoover High School. Prior to his promotion Beard served since 2019 as a physical education teacher at Roosevelt Middle School. For over seven years he also served as the head wrestling coach at Hoover.

Amy Besoli has been promoted to teacher specialist, math in Teaching, Learning & Family Engagement. Prior to her promotion to the districtshe served as a math teacher at Crescenta Valley High School for 25 years. 

Darrin Browne will be the district’s coordinator I in special education. He comes from the Alhambra Unified School District where he served as a teacher on special assignment – instructional specialist in special education. 

Krista Ghaman is now serving as coordinator of special education at the district; prior to this move she served as the assistant principal at College View School. 

Miguel Gonzalez is now the athletic coordinator at CVHS. He has served as an assistant principal at CVHS since 2021. 

Dr. Nare Hakobyan has been promoted to assistant principal at CVHS. Hakobyan has been serving as the teacher specialist at Wilson Middle School prior to the CVHS move. 

Dr. Sandra Halajian has been promoted to teacher specialist, English in Teaching, Learning & Family Engagement. She began her teaching career at GUSD in 1993. She most recently served as dean of instruction and educator culture at Geffen Academy at UCLA.

Dr. Romela Khachikyan is now assistant principal at Glendale High School. Prior to her move to Glendale, she served as assistant principal at Hoover High School. 

Dr. Mary Mardirosian has been assigned the position of assistant principal at Hoover High School. Prior to the move to Hoover, she served as coordinator II, English Learner Services. 

Tedeh Mardirosian has been promoted to athletic coordinator at Glendale High School. Prior to this move he served as a math teacher, coach and athletic director at Glendale High School.

Megan McGee has joined the district’s Child Development and Child Care Program as a supervisor. 

Tamar Mirzayan is now the teacher specialist, Dual Language Immersion – Western Armenian. Prior to this move she served as a teacher at R.D. White Elementary School.

Dr. Laura Seese is now an assistant principal at Mark Keppel Elementary School. She recently served as assistant principal in the Burbank Unified School District. 

Hasmik Simonyan is now assigned as coordinator of English Learner Services in the Dual Language Immersion and English Learner Services Dept. Prior to this move she served as assistant principal at Glendale High School.

Dr. Valerie Sun returned to GUSD from Garvey School District to serve as teacher specialist ETIS. Prior to her move to Garvey she was coordinator and teacher specialist in ETIS at GUSD. 

Margarita Tubbs is the new assistant principal at Jefferson Elementary School. She has recently served as an induction mentor support teacher on special assignment in the Burbank Unified School District. 

Narine Yapundjian was promoted to teacher specialist of Gifted and Talented Education. Prior to this promotion she served as a teacher at Balboa Elementary School.  

As stated in last week’s back to school article, traffic is an issue at all schools. 

“As students return to school, we encourage families to allow extra travel time and exercise patience during morning drop-off and afternoon pickup. A few extra minutes and careful driving go a long way in helping keep our students, families and staff safe,” stated GUSD spokesperson. “We also encourage families to review the recent safety information shared by the Glendale Police Dept. [https://tinyurl.com/yjpukdnk] and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept. [https://tinyurl.com/3hz76kdn] regarding the differences between e-bikes and electric off-road motorcycles (e-motors). The [information] reminds families that electric off-road motorcycles are not legal to operate on public streets, sidewalks or City of Glendale/LA County parks and facilities, and encourages all riders to make safe choices and always wear a helmet.”