Dr. Brent Forsee Recommended as Next Arcadia Unified Assistant Superintendent
After nearly seven years as the principal of Arcadia High School, Dr. Brent Forsee is being recommended for a promotion to the position of Assistant Superintendent for the Arcadia Unified School District. Dr. David Vannasdall, Superintendent of the Arcadia Unified School District, is recommending to the Board of Education that it appoints Dr. Forsee as Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services at its May 28, 2019 meeting.
If approved, Dr. Forsee would succeed Dr. Jeff Wilson who is being recommended to be named as the next Superintendent of the San Marino Unified School District.
“Dr. Wilson has been an integral part of our school district for the past ten years. First as Principal at First Avenue Middle School, then as Assistant Superintendent. I’m very proud of him and can’t thank him enough. His innovation, compassion for students, and knowledge of curriculum are second to none. We’re going to miss him, but we are very fortunate for his years of dedicated service, and we are a much better school district because of him,” said Arcadia Unified Superintendent Dr. Vannasdall.
Both Dr. Forsee and Dr. Wilson will remain in their current roles through the entirety of the school year and are scheduled to begin their new positions on July 1, 2019. A comprehensive national search will begin immediately for the recruitment of the next Arcadia High School Principal.
“Dr. Forsee has proven himself as a dedicated leader in our district, and he has tremendous knowledge of the educational needs and programs throughout our schools. I’m very confident we will have a seamless transition and that Dr. Forsee will be able to help even more students through this role,” said Dr. Vannasdall who made the same transition from Arcadia High School Principal to Assistant Superintendent before being named Superintendent in May of 2014.
2014 Dr. Forsee (left) with Dr. Wilson (right) at Arcadia High Back to School Night
Under Dr. Forsee’s leadership, Arcadia High School has been named a Gold Medal School by U.S. News and World Report on three separate occasions. Arcadia High has also been named in the top 1% of all U.S. public high schools, while also landing in the top 1% for having the best public high school teachers in the country according to Niche. In addition to annually being recognized as one of the best public high schools in Southern California and the Los Angeles area, last year Arcadia High School’s graduating class had a remarkable 100% graduation rate. The Apaches currently have alumni at every Ivy League University in the country plus Stanford and MIT. Arcadia High also boasts one of the best performing arts programs in the country and an athletics and sports program that has many of its teams in the CIF playoffs every year competing for regional and state championships.
“I believe strongly in the 4 A’s: Academics, Arts, Athletics, and Activities. Thanks to our amazing teachers and staff throughout the district, we can provide all of these rich opportunities for our students. I will continue to focus on providing these opportunities for more students in my new role and am very excited for the direction in which both the district as a whole and the high school are headed,” explained Dr. Forsee.
In addition to his time serving as Principal of Arcadia High School, Dr. Forsee brings a wealth of knowledge and a wide range of educational expertise to his new role at the Arcadia Education Center. He has also served as an assistant principal, coordinator of student services, director of assessment, school counselor, and history, math, English, and special education teacher. After earning his undergraduate and masters degrees from Point Loma Nazarene University, he completed his doctoral degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern California. Dr. Forsee and his wife Kim have three daughters, Averie, Everly, and Sierra, along with their two dogs Max and Chase.