South Valley Middle School principal John Perales named head of
the new high school.
South Valley Middle School Principal John Perales was named head of Gilroy’s new high school at Thursday night’s school board meeting.
The Gilroy Unified School District trustees emerged from a closed session to announce their unanimous decision to name Perales principal of Christopher High School, which is slated to open its doors to about 600 ninth and tenth graders in September 2009.
When asked when he would start his new job, Perales said “I think I’ve started!” with a laugh. As of now, Perales said he will be principal at SVMS next year as well as at CHS. The daunting task hasn’t fazed him, however, but the details are still being worked out, he said.
“We’ve got a school to build,” he said.
Excited to begin addressing the issues that surround opening a new high school, Perales is ready to hit the ground running. A “home grown product” of Gilroy, Perales graduated from Gilroy High School.
“I bleed blue and gold,” he said. With the new job, he’ll have to start adding some teal and black – his new high school colors – to his wardrobe.
The rigorous process of hiring a new principal that began about a month ago, kept him up many nights, he said. His wife, Leighan Perales, whom he acknowledged in his short speech, said she was “on pins and needles” waiting for the results.
Perales was also honored at the board meeting for his excellence in teaching.
“John has my complete support to take on this tremendous new role,” Superintendent Deborah Flores said. “If anyone bleeds Gilroy, it’s John Perales.”
“I will not let you down,” Perales said. “We will have a world class program (at CHS). No one will work harder than me to accomplish that.”
