How to go from an ailing
school district to a thriving
educational environment
Creating a healthy
climate in Ocean View
School District took
new leadership and
collaboration with all
stakeholders to develop
and practice a culture
of communication,
consistency and stability
for families, employees
and the community.
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Leadership
“At its core, organizational health is
about integrity.”
– Patrick Lencioni, “The Advantage”
When an organization is run-
down, lethargic and on the brink of cata-
strophic heart failure, it is rarely referred to as
ailing or unhealthy; yet that is exactly what it
is. Ocean View, a once vibrant, heralded pre-
school through grade 8 school district located
in the surf city of Huntington Beach, devel-
oped all the symptoms of a sick patient by the
fall of 2014. We faced a dire prognosis – three
schools closed for asbestos abatement, a fiscal
outlook on the brink of insolvency, and a dis-
trict and school climate suffering from post-
traumatic stress disorder. By the middle of
2015, the majority of our leadership positions
were empty. Any health professional would
have declared an emergency.
Our Board of Trustees hired an outside
firm to bring in new leadership. After a rig-
orous search process, the board announced
in July 2015 that Carol Hansen, assistant su-
perintendent of Human Resources in nearby
ABC Unified School District and a 30-plus
year education professional, would take the
lead, joining assistant superintendent of
Human Resources Felix Avila. The board
also hired Michael Conroy to lead Admin-
istrative Services as deputy superintendent,
and soon after, Jodee Brentlinger as assistant
superintendent for Educational Services. A
new Executive Cabinet was born.
“Ocean View was at a turning point,” said
Board President Gina Clayton-Tarvin. “We
needed new leadership that could collaborate
with all of our stakeholders and rebuild trust
and stability in our governing institution. The
possibilities came to fruition with Dr. Han-
sen and the new team she helped assemble.”
It was clear from the beginning that the
team – with support of and guidance from
the board – was intent on bringing a healthy
climate back to the families and employees
of Ocean View. After a swift initial assess-
ment, it was determined that significant sys-
temic change was needed – a lifestyle over-
haul of sorts, one that would take time, but
time was not on our side.
Redefining ‘team’
Author and management consultant Pat-
rick Lencioni tackles this topic in his book,
“The Advantage.” His recommended first
steps? Assemble a cohesive leadership team,
find clarity, and ask the following question:
Why do we exist as an organization?
In the fall of 2015, we kicked off a new
series of leadership meetings for district
and school administrators. We studied the
transformative tenets of “The Advantage”
over the course of the 2015-16 school year.
The prescription: Leaders would meet
monthly to develop and practice a new cul-
ture of communication, consistency and
By Carol Hansen and Julie A.
Jennings