PUSD Announces New Principals for Pasadena High School and Octavia E. Butler Magnet

Eric Barba, Ed.D. (l) and Arian Whitley, M.Ed (r)

Dr. Shannon Malone, PUSD Senior Director, TK-12 Principals announces the appointment of Eric Barba, Ed.D. as principal of Pasadena High School (pending approval by the Board of Education) and Arian Whitley as principal of Octavia E. Butler Magnet (pending approval by the Board of Education). These appointment will take effect July 1, 2024.

Dr. Eric Barba is an experienced secondary school principal with 26 years of experience as an educator. He has been the principal of Monache High School in the Porterville Unified School District (San Joaquin Valley) since 2015. Under his leadership, Monache was named a California Distinguished School in 2024, in part because of improvements in the school’s climate, a schoolwide decrease in suspensions, improved attendance, and effective campus security and safety programs. Dr. Barba led the transformation of the school’s culture through transparent leadership, trust-building, and accountability; supervised four career academies; and was the lead site administrator during three major construction projects.

“I am honored to have been selected to join the Pasadena High School team,” said Dr. Barba. “I look forward to working with the staff, students, and families to create amazing opportunities for all students. Go Bulldogs!”

Dr. Barba brings a wealth of experience in secondary education: professional learning communities, career academies, career-technical education, and dual enrollment. He has served as senior director of college and career partnerships for Roll Global (now known as The Wonderful Company, LLC), senior high school instructional director in L.A. Unified, principal of Duarte High School and Northview Intermediate School, and assistant principal in the Baldwin Park and South San Francisco unified school districts. Dr. Barba has an Ed.D. in K12 Education Leadership from the University of Southern California, two Master’s degrees from Azusa Pacific University, and a Bachelor’s degree from Carleton College.

Ms.Vivian Huang, who has served as assistant principal of PHS since 2021, has accepted a promotion as interim Executive Director of Special Education, effective July 1, 2024, and pending approval by the Board of Education. We are launching recruitment for a new assistant principal for PHS. Ms. Noemi Orduña, who has served as principal of Octavia E. Butler Magnet School since 2022, will serve as one of the assistant principal of PHS effective July 1, 2024.

Mr. Arian Whitley is an alumnus of John Muir High School and returns to the Pasadena Unified School District where he began his 18-year career as an educator. Mr. Whitley has solid experience in urban and suburban public schools and has a track record in leading academic gains, school climate improvements, and instructional impact through continuous feedback. He strives to serve the academic and social-emotional needs of the whole child while increasing students’ access to a rigorous coherent curriculum.

“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived, said Mr. Whitley. “ It is what difference we have made in the lives of others.”

He has been assistant principal of Rowland High School in the Rowland Unified School District since 2016. Before that, he was a social studies teacher at Hawthorne High School from 2009 to 2016 and a teacher, long-term substitute, and Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program tutor at PUSD.

Mr. Whitley has a Master of Education from the University of Southern California, a Preliminary Single Subject Credential from California State University Long Beach, and a Bachelor of Arts from Hawaii Pacific University.

He replaces Noem Orduña, who accepted a position as assistant principal at PHS.

Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD), 351 S. Hudson Avenue, Pasadena, (626) 396-3600 or visit www.pusd.us.