Placerita Junior High School principal Mike Kuhlman has been named the new principal at Canyon High School. He will assume the new role at the start of the 2012-13 school year this fall.

The principal position became available following the announcement of the retirement of long-time Canyon principal, Bob Messina, who will retire this June after 10 years as the principal of Canyon and 21 years with the Hart School District.

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Kuhlman has been the Placerita principal since 2006 and was previously an assistant principal of Canyon High School from 2001-2006. “I’m honored to be returning to Canyon High School as Principal,” Kuhlman said.  “Having worked at Canyon as an assistant principal previously, I understand the Cowboy community and I am familiar with the many reasons to celebrate the school’s academic and athletic accomplishments.”

Kuhlman started in the Hart District in 1997 at Saugus High School as an Advanced Placement U.S. History teacher where his leadership led to high AP passage rates of more than 85 percent. While at Saugus, he was a mentor teacher and was selected Teacher of the Year in 1998. Kuhlman was the president of the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA), SCV Chapter in 2005-2006 and has been involved with administrative and leadership academies since 2004.

Kuhlman received the ACSA Middle Grades Principal of the Year honor in 2008; ACSA Charter Leadership Award for the region in 2007 and several other local and regional awards for his exemplary teaching and leadership.

While at Placerita, Kuhlman implemented leadership strategies that resulted in five years of sustained growth on statewide performance exams in a socio-economically diverse setting.

Kuhlman holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from UCLA, and graduated Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1994. He went on to earn teaching credentials in 1995 and a Masters of Educational Management from University of La Verne in 2001.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to work with Canyon students, staff and families to build upon an already impressive foundation,” Kuhlman said.