Leaving behind a 38-year San Diego school system legacy, Ernest Smith will retire Aug. 3 from his position as University City High School principal.
Smith, who served as principal for the past eight years, will be replaced by Michael Price, another seasoned veteran of San Diego Schools who, ironically, taught at UC High in 1981, the year it opened.
Working the past three years in the central office on special assignment for the finance division, Price said he welcomes the chance to interact with students and the community again with open arms.
“University City High School is a really interesting school,” Price said. “It has all the potential of just doing a stellar job. It’s been doing very good and I’d like to have the opportunity to take it to the next level.”
Smith agreed firmly with Price, stating that the school has grown in numbers but also in academic and athletic ability.
In fact, the school was featured in Newsweek magazine last year as one of the top 1,200 in the country, Smith boasted.
On top of that, the number of clubs and extracurricular activities has expanded, giving students more choices and allowing them to excel outside of the classroom, Smith said.
He gave parents much of the credit for making the school such a great place for students.
"I have loved this school and loved this community,” Smith said. “The parents in this community want their children to have the best high school experience available to them, and have filled in many of the blanks that public education isn’t able to provide. The parents step forward to coach teams, raise money, volunteer in classrooms, and we all benefit.”
Price hopes to continue that trend at UC High and plans to sit down with students, faculty, staff and parents to discuss the specific vision the community has for its school, he said.
Serving as vice principal at Correia Middle School, Gompers Junior/Senior School, Roosevelt and Serra high schools, and principal at Point Loma High School, Price has a collective 32 years of experience in the school system.
The new principal said he is looking forward to using the knowledge he’s garnered to help students at UC High progress from freshmen to young adults.
“I’m really looking forward to this assignment “” working with the community and coming back to work with the students,” Price said. “This is not by any means my school. I am the principal and I’m honored to be that, but ultimately it belongs to the citizens of University City and its students.”
And while Smith said he was honored to have served as principal at the institution, as well, he acknowledged that his hope was for his departure to mark a new era for growth at UC High.
Smith, who said he wholeheartedly believes in a healthy mind and body, plans to go back to school to study Spanish, travel and keep active in his retirement.
“I’m sad to go but it is time,” Smith said. “I believe any school can benefit from this kind of change. I think it’s time for a new leader to come in with a new vision and other strengths.”
For more information about University City High School, visit www.uchs.sandi.net or contact the school’s office, (858) 457-3040.