NEW MCHS PRINCIPAL JAY FOWLER IS PICTURED AT HIS DESK, PREPARING FOR THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR. When school starts in August, Mariposa County High School will have a new adminstration to begin the new year. Jay Fowler has been named as the school’s new principal, and he’s already in his office, preparing for the day when students and staff arrive.

Fowler succeeds Celeste Azevedo, who held the position for two years before taking the director of educational services position for the district late last spring. He brings to Mariposa a host of experience, both in education and in the private sector.

The new principal is a Fresno State graduate who grew up in Santa Rosa. He took his first teaching job in Big Bear Lake, and quickly found out about the strengths and challenges of a small town. When he and his wife, Sally, married that year, it made the local newspaper’s front page.

Fowler left education, or “took a detour,” and got his contractor’s license. He worked as a contractor in Santa Rosa for a number of years before he was drawn back to teach- ing, at first in a temporary assignment. “Teaching was fun then,” he said. “I really enjoyed interacting with the kids.” He and his wife started sending out resumes for teaching positions.

They ended up at a middle school in Sacramento for a year before a friend called to tell Fowler about a new high school opening in Fresno, Duncan Polytechnic. Fowler and his family moved to Fresno, where he and wife became charter members of the Duncan staff. He was there for nine years as the department chair for construction technology.

During that time, he earned an adminstrative credential and later took a job with Madera Unified. He later was the vice principal at Madera South High School and heard about the MCHS job. He knew former principal Rock Carlson and ROP instructor Walt Hebern. “I had good feelings and applied,” Fowler said.

Fowler said the school’s obvious strength lies with its people. “Teachers here really care about doing a good job,” he said. “They have respect for each other professionally.” He said the first thing most teachers told him was, “We have good kids.”

He has respect for the traditions that MCHS embraces. “I’m very sensitive to the fact that we didn’t have that historical knowledge of the school,” he said of himself and new Vice Principal David Naranjo. “We’ll do our best to make sure people understand that we respect that history.”

He is most looking forward to getting into the classroom and seeing how the school functions, how teachers and students interact. “My focus, instructionally, is to engage students to help them learn the content. If students aren’t engaged, they aren’t learning,” he said.

Fowler said he has been welcomed by the staff he has met. “It’s a lot of responsibility,” he said of the new job. “But everybody’s been so supportive and welcoming to me.”

His wife, Sally, will retain her position as the principal of an adult school in Clovis. Fowler is moving to Mariposa. His adult children, Brian and Kelly, both live in Fresno. Brian manages an organic nursery, and Kelly is a student at Fresno State, where she is working on becoming an elementary school teacher. He said his family is looking forward to spending time in Mariposa.

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