Five New Principals Appointed to OUSD Schools

ORANGE, Calif. — June 10, 2015 – The Orange Unified School District (OUSD) Board of Education appointed James (Craig) Abercrombie and Dennis Mc Cuistion to the position of high school principal and Shele Tamaki, Ashley Pedroza, and Raeanne Lopez-Little to the position of elementary principal during their regular session meetings on May 7 and June 4,  2015.

James (Craig) Abercrombie was assigned principal of Canyon High School.  He has served as an assistant principal at Orange High School since 2011.  Prior to this, he was an athletic director, varsity boys’ basketball coach, and teacher at Orange High School.  He also taught at the secondary level in Maryland and Arizona before moving to California.  Mr. Abercrombie has a master’s degree in Educational Administration and bachelor’s degree in English, in addition to teaching credentials in English and Physical Education and an Administrative Services Credential.  Mr. Abercrombie has been involved in all aspects of high school campus administration, including activities, special education and curriculum.

Dennis McCuistion was assigned principal of Orange High School.  He has served for two years as the principal of Richland Continuation High School and two years as the coordinator of alternative education.   Prior to these assignments, Mr. McCuistion was a high school assistant principal at Orange High School, where he was also a special education teacher, athletic director and department chair.  He has a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and is a candidate for the master’s degree in Educational Administration.  In addition, he holds a Single Subject Teaching Credential in Health Sciences and an Administrative Services Credential.  Mr. McCuistion has worked with instructional programs at the District and school level in addition to program improvements in alternative education.

Shelé Tamaki was appointed principal of Crescent Elementary School.  She comes to OUSD from the Newport Mesa and Capistrano Unified School Districts, where she served as an elementary principal.  She has 20 years of experience as an elementary principal, working closely with staff and community to build educational programs.  She has a bachelor’s degree in Liberal studies and master’s degree in Educational Administration.  In addition, Ms. Tamaki holds a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and Administrative Services Credential. 

Ashley Pedroza was appointed principal of Serrano Elementary. Ms. Pedroza was most recently coordinator of student assessment and educational measurement for two years, during which time she was recognized for her outstanding work by being named the Association of California School Administrator (ACSA) Region 17 Technology Administrator of the Year. She has distinguished herself by working with teachers and community to educate them about the new state assessments. Previously, she was a Science teacher at El Modena High School.  Ms. Pedroza holds a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences and a master’s degree in Education. In addition, she has a Single Subject Teaching Credential in Biology and an Administrative Services Credential.

Raeanne Lopez-Little was appointed principal of Villa Park Elementary School.  She was most recently an elementary assistant principal at Lampson Elementary and has also served Orange Unified for over 20 years as a teacher, teacher on special assignment, and instructional specialist.  She has bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and master’s degree in Curriculum.  In addition, she holds a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and an Administrative Services Credential.  Ms. Lopez-Little has experience in teaching GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) and instructional expertise in elementary education.  She is bilingual in English and Spanish.

Congratulations to Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. McCuistion, Ms. Tamaki, Ms. Pedroza, and Ms. Lopez-Little on their new appointments!