Moorpark High has a new principal

Jason Peplinski School district officials selected a new principal for Moorpark High School on Tuesday during a closed session meeting.

Jason Peplinski will replace Principal Kirk Miyashiro, who is leaving to become principal at Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village.

Peplinski, 35, is the principal of Abraham Lincoln Elementary School in Simi Valley. He was at Simi's Royal High School between 2004 and 2007, serving first as activities director and then as assistant principal.

Before becoming an adminstrator, Peplinski taught Spanish, biology, leadership and choir at Moorpark High School and at Quartz Hill High School in the Antelope Valley.

Peplinski was the varsity volleyball coach at both schools and for the past two years he co-coached the Royal boys' varsity volleyball team.

After a comprehensive search, which included the participation of parents, faculty and students, "Peplinski rose to the top," MUSD Superintendent Ellen Smith told the Moorpark Acorn.

"He was an outstanding teacher and coach at Moorpark High School," Smith said.

"His instructional expertise in academics, technology, the arts and athletics is coupled with high energy and contagious enthusiasm," she said.

Peplinski earned a bachelor's degree from Central Michigan University in bilingual secondary education and obtained his master's degree in educational administration from Cal State University Northridge in 2001.

Having worked 10 years as a teacher, the new principal said he sees himself as an educator, first and foremost.

"I left the classroom with mixed emotions, but I will always view myself as a teacher, just to a different group of people," he said.

Peplinski said he learned much from Royal High principals Dan Houghton and Robert LaBelle, and from Anna Merriman, a former MHS principal who now is assistant superintendent at MUSD.

"They attended a lot of events at the school and I was very impressed by them," he said.

Peplinski, an accomplished pianist and gymnast who competed on volleyball and cheerleading teams while attending college in Michigan, said his bilingual skills will serve him well in Moorpark, where about 30 percent of the population speaks Spanish.

"I hope to be really accessible to the community and I think I have the ability to inspire people," he said.

Kelli Hays, principal at Mesa Verde Middle School in Moorpark, is familiar with district's choice.

Hays and Peplinski both were teachers at Moorpark about a decade ago before they became administrators.

"It's going to be an exciting time for the high school," Hays said.

"He's going to put himself out there and he's going to be seen in the community and at every band and athletic event," she said.

His appreciation of the arts and sports and his knowledge of Spanish will enable him to look out for extracurricular programs and meet the needs of all local students, Hays said.

"He's kind of a jack of all trades," she said.

Peplinski's other professional accomplishments include International Baccalaureate training and endorsement, Tobacco Use Prevention Education certification, and STAR testing curriculum development. He also spoke nationally on the topic of leadership and the Renaissance.

Peplinski and his family live in Simi Valley.

He has two sons, Jerame, who graduated from Royal High this week, and Jerrett, who will be a junior at Royal next year.