by Mark McDermott
John Bowes, an education leader known for creative curriculum and financial expertise, has been named superintendent of the Manhattan Beach Unified School District.
Bowes, who is expected to be officially approved by the school board at its July 7 meeting, has served as superintendent of the Davis Joint Unified School District since 2016. Bowes also has South Bay ties, previously serving as an assistant superintendent at the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District. Bowes will take over from Mike Matthews, who has served as MBUSD superintendent since 2010.
School Board president Jennifer Fenton said the hiring of Bowes comes at a critical time. The district lost a significant percentage of its students during the pandemic and came under fire from parents who were dissatisfied by the pace of the return to in-person instruction.
Karina Gerger has been named as the new principal at Mira Costa High School. She will replace Ben Dale, who in March announced he would be stepping down after…
MBUSD Board to Appoint New Mira Costa High School Principal - Manhattan Beach, CA - The district will be recommending Dr. Karina Gerger for the position at Tuesday's board meeting.
Manhattan Beach an improbable focal point for protests in 2020
SHARE In November, parents and students held a rally in Polliwog Park, calling for schools to be reopened. Photo by JP Cordero
Joe Franklin leads a May 18 rally at the Manhattan Beach City Hall of protesters demanding that businesses be allowed to reopen. In November, Franklin was elected to the city council. Photo by JP Cordero
The pandemic in Manhattan Beach was met with an uneasy mixture of community cooperation and outright defiance in a year in which the city’s conflicts would mirror the nation’s.
Manhattan Beach by year’s end will have experienced four deaths and more than 750 COVID-19 cases, a lower incidence than most of Los Angeles County and much of the United States, but by global metrics a higher incidence rate than India, Russia, and Peru. Yet the city found itself in the regional and sometimes national spotlight as the pandemic progressed, first when a surfer was fined for defying a pu
In-person learning began for the youngest students at Pennekamp Elementary and other MBUSD elementary schools on Tuesday. Photo courtesy MBUSD
In-person learning began for the youngest students at Pennekamp Elementary and other MBUSD elementary schools on Tuesday. Photo courtesy MBUSD
Tuesday was the first day of school at Pennekamp Elementary, and Principal Karina Gerger noticed something was very different than years past. It wasn’t the fact that all the kids wore masks, though of course that was different. It wasn’t even the plexiglass-equipped desks and the handwashing stations in every classroom, though that too was something brand new.