The Newhall School District is preparing for a new superintendent on Sunday when longtime Superintendent Dr. Marc Winger will step down and Paul A. Cordeiro will take his place.

Cordeiro was most recently with the Carpinteria Unified School District, where he was superintendent.

He worked for the Newhall School District from 2000 to 2005, and prior to that was assistant superintendent of the Santa Barbara County Education Office’s curriculum and instruction division from 1992 to 1999.

The new superintendent arrives at the Newhall School District at a pivotal time.

While Dr. Winger oversaw the implementation of the new Common Core State Standards and the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, representing major changes in the state’s education system, Cordeiro will be the one to lead the district as it learns exactly how those changes affect schools and students.

“Thanks to Dr. Winger’s excellent leadership, the building blocks for success are in place, with a pervasive culture of working hard to ensure all students learn supported by skilled teachers and administrators,” Cordeiro said. “The challenge now is to apply Newhall’s successful practices in the new era of Common Core and the emerging California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress.”

Going forward, Cordeiro said the district’s vision needs full collaboration with Common Core and CAASPP to ensure the district is helping sixth-graders emerge positioned for success in secondary grades.

“The most significant area of change is in mathematics, not only for students and teachers but for parents,” he said. “We need to make sure that we attend to math, for all stakeholders, in a sustained effort that keeps everyone informed and accepting of the changes in pedagogy.”

Cordeiro is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, and University of California, Irvine, and was among a pool of 20 applicants for the position after a search by La Quinta-based executive search firm Leadership Associates.

“We are extremely excited to have Paul return to the district,” said Mike Shapiro, president of the Newhall district’s governing board. “To have someone come in who knows the culture and was a strong influence is a great thing.”

As superintendent of the Carpinteria district, Cordeiro oversaw operations for seven schools comprising more than 2,300 students.

In his time with the district, the API was elevated to 809 in 2013 from 731 in 2006, even as the district’s population of poor, minority and English language learner students steadily increased.

Cordeiro has been invested in several forward-thinking initiatives in the CUSD, including THRIVE Carpinteria Cradle-to-Career, a public-private partnership focused on community-supported efforts to elevate students to college and career readiness.

He also helped develop the K-8 Coherent Writing Program, a standards-based articulated program that has resulted in significant proficiency improvements.

Under his leadership, the district created English language learner performance standards and introduced Guided Language Acquisition Design to the ELL instructional program.

In his previous position with the Newhall School District, he helped lead an instructional program that produced multiple California Distinguished School awards, a National Blue Ribbon Award and Title I Achieving Schools awards.

He also served on management teams overseeing construction of three new schools and modernization of three others.

The district’s outgoing superintendent said he’s retiring proud of the district and with full confidence in its new leader.

“I am confident that Paul will lead the district in new directions that build on the solid success that we’ve achieved,” Winger said. “He knows the culture of the district, he was a big part of our success when he worked here 10 years ago and he’ll be working with great people. I’ll enjoy watching his success in the next era of the Newhall district.”