> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Former Samohi principal Ilene Straus named district's senior director of secondary education - URL: https://www.smdp.com/straus-is-back-in-house-former-samohi-principal-tapped-as-school-districts-secondary-school-sage/ - Published: 2006-07-07T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T18:45:45.000Z - Author: Kevin Herrera - Tags: Education, Santa Monica, #archive-import *New director looks to close achievement gap* SMMUSD HDQTRS. — Looking for experience, stability and strong leadership skills at the highest levels of the school district, elected officials drafted one of their most accomplished educators to drive academic achievement at all middle and high schools. In an unanimous decision, the school board last week appointed former Santa Monica High School principal Ilene Straus as the senior director of secondary education, making her a key player in reaching the district’s goals, including closing the achievement gap experienced by students of color. The salary range for the position is $95,919 to $116,589\. With more than 20 years of experience, Straus is expected to receive the full amount offered, said Marcia Hagan who works in the district’s human resources department. Straus’ appointment fills a position recently created as part of a reorganization of the leadership structure of the district, said Interim Superintendent Mike Matthews. Harry Keiley, president of the Santa Monica-Malibu Classroom Teachers Association, said the union is closely monitoring the recent changes in leadership in the district’s main office, looking to see if administrative costs are increasing at a time when teachers are asking for a raise. Keiley said it is too early to tell if the director of secondary education is needed or what impact Straus will have on student achievement and the professional development of faculty. “District staff and the school board obviously think this is the right position at the right time to sustain some of the reforms,” Keiley said.“If it can make a difference in the lives of students and teachers, than it will be money well spent. But the union demands that there be continual oversight and evaluation on whether or not this position is doing what its supposed to do.” Straus also will be in charge of evaluating the performance of all secondary school teachers; analyzing data collected from standardized test results; and designing curriculum and how it should be taught to students. “I think this is really necessary,” school board member Emily Bloomfield said of Straus’ appointment. “Since we have three current principal vacancies (at John Adams and Lincoln middle schools and Samohi) we need someone with a lot of experience to mentor the new principals and get them up to speed along with our development staff. That is very critical and Dr. Straus is very capable of performing these tasks.” Straus’ appointment was challenged by some black and Latino parents who felt she had performed poorly as principal at Samohi, which suffered from racial tension. Samohi also experienced a dramatic rise in test scores for all students. At one point this year, members of Samohi’s African American Parent/Student/Staff Support Group unanimously passed a resolution stating, “We request the termination of employment of Dr. Ilene Straus CEO/Principal of Samohi and that she not remain in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District because she is a clear and present danger to our children.” The creation of the director position also was criticized because it was publicly offered to Straus before it was approved by the school board, making elected officials seem as if they had no influence. “I don’t think Dr. Straus should be rewarded for doing a bad job,” said parent Marlene Herrera, who spoke before the school board, urging them to hire someone else for the director’s post. Straus could not be reach for comment. Prior to joining Samohi, Straus served for 16 years as principal of Lincoln Middle School, where she was selected as California Secondary Principal of the Year. Under her leadership, Lincoln was selected as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, a California Distinguished School and Disney Spotlight School of the Year. The school board has defended Straus, with members throwing their support behind the educator, who has expressed an intense interest in continuing to serve the district as director of secondary education. In a letter to parents, board members said the district “is extremely fortunate” to have Straus, whose years of experience will “help bring continuity” to those schools where there are currently no principals. To ensure that the needs of students of color are met, the school board added some essential duties and qualifications to the director position, such as breaking down grade point averages and other data by eth-nicity; increasing the diversity of honors and advanced placement classes; and identifying successful strategies and skills regarding working in and leading a diverse community. Straus will report directly to the assistant superintendent of educational services, Tim Walker, according to a report by district staff. With the departure of Superintendent John Deasy and Donna Muncey, the chief academic officer, the district’s staff felt it was necessary to make some changes. Formerly the assistant superintendent of special education, Walker was recently promoted to assistant superintendent of educational services, a position similar to Muncey’s. Straus will handle secondary education while Maureen Bradford will continue to work with elementary schools. Winston Braham will continue to serve as assistant superintendent of business services, and Matthews will remain interim superintendent and assistant superintendent of human resources until a new superintendent is chosen by the school board, a decision which is expected in the coming weeks. At that time Matthews will leave the district to become vice president of the Los Angeles office of Extreme Learning, a San Francisco-based firm that develops after school programming for struggling schools. “We are really going back to what it was a few years ago,” Matthews said of the recent reorganization “The new superintendent, when he or she comes on board, may chose to keep it this way, or say,‘I like it better having four (assistant superintendents).’ It’s their choice. We feel this is a more streamlined approach.” Special education used to be under the direction of educational services, however, an assistant superintendent position was created and Walker was hired to deal with concerns expressed by district officials and parents. “I don’t think you will find many assistant superintendents of special education, but the needs were acute and we felt we needed someone to meet those needs,” Matthews said of Walker’s appointment. “The recent changes are really just a natural progression. As we’ve gotten special education more in line, we felt it was time for (Walker) to assume more responsibilities.” The current title of assistant superintendent of special education still remains active, with the board reserving the option of closing it or hiring another person to fill it. The hiring of Straus should not affect the $145 million budget approved by the school board last week, Braham said. However, if the board chooses to hire a replacement for Walker in special education, that would change the amount of money needed to fund administrative posts. Matthews said Straus is highly-qualified to lead secondary education and believes the new position will enable a greater focus on middle and high school students. “Many school districts have an elementary curriculum specialist and a secondary elementary specialist,” Matthews said. “The needs of both are very different. So the first time in a long time we’ll have a position that provides the expertise to secondary schools. We think Dr. Straus’expertise is outstanding.” *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 7, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/070706.pdf?ref=smdp.com)