Rob Coppo selected as new principal of Torrey Pines High School
The San Dieguito Union High School District Board of Trustees and Superintendent Rick Schmitt recently announced that Rob Coppo is returning to the San Dieguito Union High School District (SDUHSD) to serve as principal of Torrey Pines High School (TPHS). Coppo is currently the Assistant Director of Career Technical Education in the Grossmont Union High School District. Coppo takes over for David Jaffe, who was recently selected to lead the Rancho Santa Fe School District as superintendent.
Coppo is in his 18th year in education and previously served as an assistant principal of Torrey Pines High School from 2008 to 2015. Last year, Coppo led career technical education in the Grossmont Union High School District. Prior to this experience, he was a high school English and video production teacher, a WASC site coordinator, a soccer coach, a technology mentor, and was selected as Teacher of the Year in the Escondido Union High School District.
Coppo and his family have long been a part of the community. Not only did Coppo work at Torrey Pines for seven years, he is also a graduate of the school. As a proud member of the TPHS class of 1986, he will be attending his 30th high school reunion in August. His sister and father still live in the area. Two of his nieces graduated from Torrey Pines, and one more will graduate from TPHS in 2019. Coppo currently lives in La Mesa, where his son will be a junior at Grossmont High School, and his daughter will be an eighth grader at La Mesa Arts Academy.
Asked about the transition from his current position in the Grossmont District to the TPHS Principalship, Coppo said:
“I have enjoyed working in the Grossmont District and having the opportunity to lead important work around pathways and whole school improvement. It is difficult to leave such a great position, and I will miss the students and staff I was lucky enough to work with over the last year.
“As much as I have enjoyed my current position, the opportunity to return to SDUHSD to lead my alma mater is too great to pass up. I feel honored to be chosen to lead a school that means so much to me and my family. I am looking forward to reuniting with the best staff I have ever worked with, as well as the incredible students and families that make Torrey Pines a very special place. Being a site principal is something I enjoy very much, and it is something I take very seriously. I am happy to be back in a position where I can work directly with students, staff, and families to achieve their goals. It is my hope, my goal, and my driving desire to positively impact students the way a TPHS teacher did for me when I was a student there. I have always been a Falcon, and I will always be a Falcon, and I can’t wait to back.” Coppo said, “I’m very familiar with the history and culture of TPHS, having worked with principals Jaffe and Killeen over a span of seven years. Even during my year away, I’ve been following the successes and changes at TPHS, and I am looking forward to helping guide the school into a new era. It’s a school full of hard working, spirited, intelligent and creative people. I feel truly honored and incredibly lucky to lead such an amazing school in an incredible district.”
Coppo started in his new position on July 1, 2016.
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