District names principal for Oak Crest Middle

The San Dieguito Union High School District Board of Trustees and Superintendent Rick Schmitt are proud to announce that Dr. Ben Taylor has been selected as the new principal of Oak Crest Middle School in Encinitas beginning July 1.

Dr. Ben Taylor is serving as assistant principal of Oak Crest Middle School. Other positions he has held are assistant principal of Santa Rosa Academy and instructional coach for the state of North Carolina.

During his tenure at the state level, Taylor was an instructional coach for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, District and School Transformation Division. He provided support and training to teachers in 10 counties and developed and implemented the new Common Core state standards. Before working at the state level, he taught English and social studies at the middle and high school levels in North Carolina and California.

Taylor holds a doctorate in educational administration, a master’s degree in school administration, an administrative services credential and an English/language arts credential with Cross Cultural Language Arts Authorization.

The best part of his Oak Crest Middle School experience so far, he said, is the incredible student body. His favorite part of the day is being out on campus and interacting with them. Staff has described his style as being collaborative, supportive, and straightforward. He is truly a team player!

Other administrative promotions are Reno Medina, assistant principal at Earl Warren Middle School, who will be promoted to assistant principal at La Costa Canyon High School; and Corey Bess, assistant principal at Diegueno Middle School, who will be promoted to assistant principal at Canyon Crest Academy. Both will begin their new assignments on July 1.