New dean at Frontier eager to support students in their goals

WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers WELCOME—Alexis Ortiz, a 35-year-old Camarillo resident, is the new dean of student accountability at Frontier High School in Camarillo. Students at Frontier High School in the Camarillo Airport will see a new face in the administration office when school starts on Tuesday.

Alexis Ortiz, 35, is the new dean of student accountability. She replaces James Koenig, who spent two years at Frontier before being promoted this summer to assistant principal at Rio Mesa High.

“I’ve heard amazing things about the principal” at Frontier, Ortiz said. “I’m really looking forward to working with him and the staff. . . . From what I hear, I’m very lucky to have been placed with this staff and group. I’m very grateful for that.”

Ortiz, a Camarillo resident, was one of eight people interviewed for the position. Frontier principal Wayne Lamas, a member of the five-person interview panel, said Ortiz stood out from the rest.

“We’re really happy to have her here,” said Lamas. “Her energy level was one of the things that separated her from the other candidates. . . . She was at the top of everybody’s list.”

The panel unanimously recommended Ortiz to the Oxnard Union High School District board. The board approved the appointment at its Aug. 12 meeting.

Ortiz reported to work the following day and has since had a crash course on the duties and deadlines expected of Frontier’s dean of student accountability.

With duties similar to those of an assistant principal, deans at traditional high schools work closely with counselors at each grade level to ensure students are attending school and earning good grades. But because the alternative school does not have distinctive ninth through 12th grades, the dean at Frontier is responsible for all of its 450 students.

Ortiz’s duties will include overseeing the school grounds, student safety and meeting the needs of students, parents and the staff.

Ortiz said she’s up to the challenges ahead. Her strategy is to know each Frontier student as an individual and get them involved in extracurricular activities that will support their goals. She also wants each student to connect with a caring adult on campus who will mentor the teens to help them stay engaged at school.

“I think once they believe in you and know you’re there for them they’ll work harder to make you proud . . . to live up to the expectations,” Ortiz said.

Before coming to Frontier, Ortiz worked 10 of her 12 years as an educator in the Santa Paula Union High School District. She was a teacher and coordinator for the tobacco, alcohol and drug prevention programs. The Santa Paula district has one traditional high school and an alternative high school.

She’s also an adjunct professor at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, teaching credential classes for prospective teachers. Ortiz has a bachelor’s degree in health science and a master’s degree in education and earned administrative credentials last year.

At Santa Paula Union, Ortiz served on several health and safety committees and taught the only health class—a required course for every student. In time, she came to know all 1,600 students in the district.

Last year the students voted her Teacher of the Year.

“It was a wonderful moment,” she said.

Before she left, the students made her promise to attend their home games and return for graduation for the next four years. She said she’ll keep her promise.

Ortiz said it was difficult to leave Santa Paula Union, but she had reached her potential there and was eager to expand her career.

The staff at Frontier has been warm and welcoming, she said, adding, “I just hope to be here a very long time.”

Ortiz is married to Randy Ortiz, assistant principal at Channel Islands High School in Oxnard, and they have a 6yearold son.