Kicking off the school year at full capacity, there’s a new boss on campus, Principal Dr. Karina Gerger. With 18 years of experience under her belt, including various positions within Manhattan Beach Unified School District (MBUSD), Gerger takes on the role of school principal after Dr. Ben Dale announced his retirement in March of 2021.
From 2015 through 2017, Gerger was one of four vice principals at Mira Costa. She then decided to take the opportunity to apply for the role of principal at Pennekamp Elementary School in Manhattan Beach. According to Gerger, she also worked at the district office, which provided her with a perspective on the district as a whole.
“I have worked at every school site in Manhattan Beach except the preschool, so my experiences carry across different size schools, but still the same community of learners and their families,” Gerger said “That said, it is definitely a different feel and responsibility being principal versus vice principal.”
Gerger has been making strides so far while following all of the COVID-19 safety precautions provided by California Governor Gavin Newsom. On the first day of school, she planned an event known as the “Senior Sun rise” that aimed towards starting a new tradition. She was also able to introduce herself to the senior class and start the new, in-person school year in light of the pandemic. Although there has been a growing concern of the COVID-19 Delta Variant, Gerger has continued to encourage the safety protocols such as wearing masks and social distancing.
“Having students and staff back on campus is what most excites me about this year,” Gerger said. “It has been way too long being away, and my hope is that we can remain in in-person learning. Covid will impact all of us this year; I urge students and staff to follow masking and distancing protocols so that we can maintain a safe and healthy environment for all.”
Jennifer Hyunh, Senior Vice Principal
By Emily von Buttlar, Executive Features Editor
Jennifer Hyunh takes on the next step in her career as Costa’s vice principal for the class of 2022.
Hyunh graduated from University of New Mexico in 2008 where she majored in Secondary Education with endorsement in Communication Arts for her bachelors and Educational Leadership with endorsement in Administrative Licensure for her Masters. Hyunh continued to pursue her career as a teacher and an activities director for 10 years at Manzano High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Three years ago, she received her credentials for administration after moving to California.
“I loved working with the kids in the capacity that I was doing, but I realized that I wanted to make a different kind of impact and just continue to grow and learn and change,” Hyunh said.
In early 2019, Hyunh was an assistant principal at Santa Anna High School, then was offered the position of vice principal at Costa in 2021. Currently, she is attending University of Southern California, where she is pursuing her doctorate in Educational Leadership.
“I feel like that’s been that missing piece for me, of living in the neighborhood is that now I truly get to make a bigger difference in my neighborhood because I am working with the kids and families on a regular basis,” Hyunh said.
Huynh works as the vice principal of athletics alongside Glenn Marx, the athletic director, to monitor COVID-19 testing as she has a part in Costa’s athletics program. She also helps in the regulation of spectator safety protocols, the hiring of new coaches and has been trying to attend games.
“I really love to go to the athletic events,” Hyunh said. “It completely changes the dynamic, and it is a completely different world outside of just the typical academic classroom. I really wanted to be a part of the community I was living in.”
Jessica Lubs, Junior Vice Principal
By Emily von Buttlar, Executive Features Editor
Jessica Lubs jumps back into the routine of an administrator, now as the vice principal for Costa’s class of 2023.
According to Lubs, some of her goals for this year are to bring back school spirit along with a caring and inclusive culture. Lub’s responsibilities include working with the Special Educations students and wants to ensure that everyone feels that they have a place here at Costa. Lubs has also said that she has been reaching out to families to introduce herself because there is not as much of a human element for this year.
“It is a really neat team of people, and I think that everybody is just really positive and really here for kids,” Lubs said. “It’s a really great feeling to be around people who are really excited about their jobs, excited to help the teachers help the [students].”
Lubs started her career in education as an English teacher at El Segundo High School in 1995, then started engaging in positions at the school district level. Lubs then moved to the district where she worked with all the grade-level teachers where they discussed how to create a seamless transition between the grade levels.
“A big part for me is the general outreach and working with the teachers to make sure [that] they’re getting a hold of their families, and as best as we can, virtually if we have to, let every student know that there is a place for them [at Costa],” Lubs said.
She moved to Loyola Marymount University, where she was a teacher who taught new teachers for about six years.
Lubs then temporarily came to Costa as a substitute vice principal for Tara Grings and Jessica Bledsoe in the 2018-19 school year. Lubs says that she loves the community, the kids and Costa as a whole.
“The kids here are so polite and lovely and still very positive about the future, even though we are still doing masks,” Lubs said.
According to Lubs, although COVID-19 has been a nightmare, she is excited that the seniors are able to have another full school year. She is continuously aiming to ensure students know that there is a place for them at Costa by reaching out to families and teachers, Lubs said.
“It is really nice to meet people when it is not [related to] discipline,” Lubs said. “I love Costa, it is an exciting place to be, and I love that it is really inclusive and tries to embrace everybody and all the different things that they like.”
Amanda Vavao, Freshman Vice Principal
By Emily von Buttlar, Executive Features Editor
Amanda Vavao moves through the grade levels making her way to Costa as the class of 2025’s vice principal.
Vavao started her career in education at Pennekamp Elementary School as a transitional kindergarten teacher for three years in 2005, although she was initially hired as a long-term substitute teacher. In 2008, she began teaching kindergarten for nine years and then third grade for six years. She continued to take on leadership positions at Pennekamp Elementary School and through MBUSD.
“I love having 16 years of being a teacher, that background, knowing what good administrations looks like, knowing how I felt supported as a teacher and seeing how my students felt supported by their administrator,” Vavao said. “I want to be that servant leader as well. I just realized through taking those leadership positions that I could make a difference on a grander scale with students. I love working with teachers and other staff members for the betterment of the students and the school and the district at large.”
Vavao began the administrative services credentialing program in 2018 through Long Beach State where she received her preliminary administrative credentials in 2020. For four weeks in the summer of 2021, Vavao worked as the principal intern for Expanded Learning Opportunities, the summer school program at Pacific Elementary School. Then, she worked with secondary school students, grades six through twelve, at Manhattan Beach Middle School.
“One of my goals here is to bring awareness to the Mustangs, expect respect, through PBIS (positive-behavior interventions and supports) and social-emotional learning to create and maintain that culture of care here,” Vavao said. “Just to ensure that everyone feels included, and everyone feels cared about and supported.”
According to Vavao, she wants to make sure that students understand and maintain their own emotions, showing empathy for others, which goes together with the social-emotional learning. Vavao has been trying to be present for students if they need help.
“For the first week of school, we’ve been getting ready for Office Hours, in making sure that it is a safe environment for students and a positive environment for learning,” Vavao said.
