Coronado Unified School District has named Tim Kusserow as the new Coronado High School Assistant Principal. Kusserow is an innovative and experienced educational leader who brings decades of teaching and administrative experience to the position. He will join CHS Principal Karin Mellina and Assistant Principal Rikki Betancourt on the high school’s leadership team.
“We are very excited to welcome Mr. Kusserow to the Islander Family! His experience and commitment to fostering a safe, supportive, and rigorous learning environment for our students will be a valuable addition and we look forward to the positive impact he will bring to CHS,” said Mellina.
“I am so happy to be here in Coronado. CHS is a great school and I believe that what defines excellent schools is the people. Students need mentors and to be surrounded by outstanding educators. I look forward to joining the great leadership at CHS and the district and to finding ways to connect with students and the community,” said Kusserow.
He is passionate about making a difference through effective leadership. “By setting high standards, clarifying expectations, anticipating challenges, devising innovative and effective responses and valuing community we can provide the best possible education experience to every student, have faculty and staff who are fulfilled in their careers, and parents who trust the institution,” he shared.
In 2020 Kusserow founded an educational consulting firm to support students, families, and educational partners in optimizing student success. Prior to that he served as CEO/Head of School for the prestigious Carlthorp School in Santa Monica for four years.
While his career has had many highlights, Kusserow cites accomplishments during his nine years working in the inner city as a teacher/Literacy Coach/assistant principal responsible for special education in the Los Angeles Unified School District as a high point. “We transformed a low-performing elementary school in LAUSD into the highest-scoring Title 1/Reading First elementary school in California,” he shared.
Kusserow is a third generation Santa Monica native. He graduated from Santa Monica High School, where he played football for his dad. His mother was a kindergarten teacher and both parents were role models in his path to becoming an educator.
“Coronado reminds me a lot of Santa Monica, which is a main reason I wanted to come here at this point in my career. I like that Coronado is multigenerational, where connections, values, respect for history and tradition are all important and still with a desire to innovate and evolve,” he shared. The military connections of Coronado students are also important to Kusserow. “I have tremendous respect for those who serve our country, including my brother and grandfather. I am very much looking forward to connecting with the students whose parents are serving in the military.” As a former high school athlete he is also looking forward to watching the Islander sports teams and getting to know the community. “I love being outdoors, especially at the beach, Coronado is so walkable it’s a great place to explore.” Kusserow has a B.A. degree in Government and International Relations from the University of Notre Dame and an M.A. in Public Policy from the University of California Berkeley.
