Gail Wasserman




Administrators join SHS

By Leigh Ann Maze

The Saratoga High School administration will have some new members as of July 1. Martin Nichols will come on board as the new assistant principal, replacing Chuck Krause, who left earlier this school year for a position as principal at another school.

Karen Hyde will remain as assistant principal but a third assistant principal position has been created. Gail Wasserman, who has worked as an academic advisor at SHS for the past seven years, will fill the position.

"We expect about 1,300 students next year," said SHS principal Kevin Skelly. "And in order to keep our level of service up, we decided we needed to create the new position."

Wasserman's title will be Assistant Principal of Guidance. She said the position was created because not only is the high school's student body growing, but the number of colleges to which each student is applying is increasing as well. She also said the college application process has become more complicated. Her duties will be the same, but she will have a few added responsibilities, she said.

The guidance department will continue to have three academic advisors, plus Wasserman. Two new guidance counselors have been hired: Kristy Calli, a counselor from James Lick High School and Richard Napara, a counselor from Soquel High School. Nina Whitcanack is a current guidance counselor at the high school, although she only works 60 percent of the time. Eric Schreiber, who teaches at SHS will continue his teaching responsibilities and take on 40 percent of the guidance counseling duties.



Martin Nichols




Nichols comes to SHS from Southern California, where he worked for the past year as an assistant principal at El Modena High School. The Florida native has a master's degree in educational administration from Saint Mary's College. During the 1998-1999 school year, Nichols was assistant principal at Half Moon Bay High School.

"I prefer smaller schools and districts because there is an opportunity to get closer to the kids, their families and the staff," Nichols said. "I am eager to return to the Bay Area."

Before working in school administration, he taught English and science at a middle school and English and physics at the high-school level. Of his life in education, Nichols said teaching "runs in the blood." Both of his parents were teachers and eventually principals.

As assistant principal at SHS, Nichols' responsibilities will include discipline, attendance, maintenance and operations and athletics. He plans to live in San Francisco with his Siamese cat.

"I want to be on campus and in the classrooms where the action is, as much as possible," Nichols said of his goals at SHS. "I've heard great things about the school and the community, and I'm looking forward to establishing relationships with the students, their families and the staff."

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