VP Lewis take county job; MHS will add to admin team

Manteca High’s administrative team will soon welcome a new member. Vice principal Brett Lewis (far left) has taken a director’s position with the San Joaquin County Office of Education.

Staff reports

In an email to staff on Aug. 31, Manteca High vice principal Brett Lewis announced he is leaving Manteca High to become the new Director of Special Education with the San Joaquin County Office of Education.

Lewis has been working at Manteca high for nine years. He has filled several roles during nearly a decade on campus, including teacher (six years), administrator (three years) and boys basketball coach, amongst others.

Although his heart belongs to Manteca High, Lewis said he’s looking for a new challenge and many of his colleagues expect to thrive in a leadership role with the county. Lewis also said that he hopes this opportunity lets him spend more time with his young family.

“Manteca High is truly a special place,” he said. “I loved being a part of this school and community. It has brought me some of the best memories of my life. The staff, students, and community of MHS are the best around.”

Lewis expects to be on campus through the end of the term. His position has been posted at www.edjoin.org.

The remaining administrative team will move forward with their heads up and will not be slowed down by this.

“We will miss him around here for sure,” assistant principal Neil MacDannald said. “He is good with students and staff alike. He has done nothing but help the environment here. We will all continue to do the best we can at our jobs to help serve the school.”

When Lewis’ spot is filled, Manteca High will have a unique dynamic in the front office. All of the administrators will be in their first year in the position, starting with principal Megan Peterson.

She is undaunted by the lack of positional experience. Instead, she sees the foundational experience each administrator brings.

“This is my 31st year in education and I was an assistant vice principal for around 20 years, so I pretty much have no doubts,” Peterson said. “There are little things that I still need to figure out, you know, but for the most part I hit the ground running.”

Although the staff might be in their first year with their specific role now, they have all been working in education for many years, most of which have been at Manteca High. Vice principal Frank Fontana began his career as a teacher at Manteca High before graduating into a Teacher on Special Assignment and now administrator. Peterson says her team has seen the school change over time and they know how to adapt to their new positions.

“MacDannald, he’s super smart, and he has me as a reference because I did that job forever,” Peterson said. “Frank Fontana is a natural. He was also our intervention (specialist) last year, so he got a pretty good taste of what it’s like of doing VP job. I think we are really lucky in terms of that. Hopefully, after Mr. Lewis leaves, we can hire someone really good too.”