Plumas Lake School District welcomes new faces

Plumas Lake Elementary School District will be welcoming several new faces to its schools this year.

The new staffers come with the opening of its fourth school this fall, along with converting Riverside Meadows into a middle school.

"With the growth of our schools we are excited to welcome several new people to our staff this year," district Superintendent Dionne Beilby said. "I believe the value added by these individuals will only continue to increase the success of our students."

The new staff members include Baljinder Dhillon, principal at Rio Del Oro Elementary; Kirsten Spallino, principal at Cobblestone Elementary; Christopher Morris, principal at Riverside Meadows Middle School; and Julie Dorman, district food services director.

A look at each of the four:

Baljinder Dhillon

Dhillon comes to Plumas Lake with almost two decades of local experience and prior to his move, worked for the Yuba City Unified School District for the last 18 ears.

Dhillon first taught fifth grade at Tierra Buena Elementary School before becoming an assistant principal there as well as at Barry Elementary. Dhillon has been a district gifted and talented education coordinator, and English language development coordinator, and a student teacher supervisor at California State University, Sacramento.

Dhillon holds a B.A. in Liberal Studies and a Masters in Education Administration from CSU Sacramento.

"My goal is for every student to have rigorous curriculum and be successful at it," Dhillon said. "Also, I want to work with the community, to be part of our school."

Kirsten Spallino

Spallino is not a completely new face to Plumas Lake, but will be taking on a new role at Cobblestone Elementary School, which is slated to open in August. Spallino served as the interim principal at Riverside Meadows in addition to teaching grades 2nd through 8th in the district since 1999.

In addition to her role as principal and teacher, Spallino has also been a California beginning teacher support assessment provider and coordinator. She has also coached basketball, football and track.

Sapllino grew up in Yuba County and attended Marysville Joint Unified School District schools and holds a degree and credential from California State University,Chico.

"I hope to be able to provide the support and education necessary for the success of my teachers and students, Spallino said. "I also hope to look back on my career and know I made a change in others' lives."

Christopher Morris

Morris will be joining the Plumas Lake district with some past experience in fast-growing communities and school districts.

Morris is coming to Plumas Lake from the Elk Grove Unified School District, where he has worked for the past eight years. Most recently he was the vice-principal at Katherine Albiani Middle School and prior to that taught 8th grade U.S. History at Edward Harris Jr. Middle School and Samuel Jackman Middle School, both also in Elk Grove. Morris started his teaching career in the San Juan Unified School District, teaching history and language arts for three years at Will Rogers Middle School. Along the way he has taught Adult Ed classes, corrdinated the after school programs, and has been a summer school administrator.

Morris holds a teaching credential in Social Science as well as a B.A. in Criminal Justice from CSU Sacramento and a Masters in Educational Administration from National University.

"My goal for this first year is to continue the hard dwork of the teachers in developing rigorous coursework that challenges all students," Morris said. "We are also in the process of developing a flexible enough schedule that will allow students the opportunity to take accelerated classes, while offering appropriate academic intervention courses to help move students towards proficiency."

Julie Dorman

Dorman joined the district after working with the Rocklin Unified School District where she was the food service director, serving 14 schools from elementary schools to high schools for the past eight years. Dorman also is a member of the School Nutrition Association and is the p resident of the local chapter in the area.

Dorman grew up in Yuba County and lives in Arboga with her husband Steve, a local contractor. The couple has three children, Blake, Bryce, and Austin and Dorman made the move to the Plumas Lake School District to be closer to her family and more involved in the local schools and community.

"My goal is to offer the students of Plumas Lake more choices and fresh fruits and vegetables while meeting or exceeding the guidelines set forth by the National School Lunch Program," Dorman said. "I want parents and students to know that I value their opinion and suggestions."

Plumas Lake correspondent Michele Perrault can be reached at (916) 600-6814 or you may e-mail her at michele@winfirst.com