The William S. Hart Union High School District Governing Board approved the appointment of Tara Brown as the new Assistant Superintendent of Student Services. Brown was selected to fill the opening created by the retirement of Assistant Superintendent Kathy Hunter. The Board also appointed Adam Barrios as the new Principal of Rancho Pico Junior High School. Barrios takes the helm after the retirement of current Principal Dr. Catherine Nicholas.

Tara Brown comes to the Hart District with extensive experience and a record of excellent educational leadership. Brown has over 30 years of experience in education as a teacher, an at-risk coordinator, a middle school assistant principal, and elementary school principal. She is coming to the Hart District most recently having served for 10 years as the Director of Student Services for the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. In that role, Brown gained a wealth of experience in school safety, mental health services, and all things related to student services. Brown is passionate about her work, and is a skilled educational leader. She was named both the District Teacher of the Year (1997-98) and the District Principal of the Year (2006) for the Lancaster School District. Brown has a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies from the Master’s College, and a Master’s Degree from National University in Educational Administration.

Adam Barrios began working full-time with the Hart District in 2007 as a math teacher at Placerita Junior High School before moving on to work in number of administrative positions that prepared him for this next step in his career. Barrios worked as an assistant principal in the Pasadena Unified School District (2014-17) before returning to the Hart District as an assistant principal at Placerita and Sierra Vista junior high schools, and later at Valencia and Canyon high schools in that same role. His experiences at each of those school sites have helped to provide Barrios the invaluable understanding and knowledge to assess, identify, and address areas of need and growth at the school and student level. He is deeply committed to fostering an environment that nurtures the academic, social, cultural, and emotional growth of students. Barrios has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and a Master’s Degree from California State University Northridge in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies.

Brown and Barrios will officially begin their new roles on July 1, 2024.