Foothill Technology High School’s (Foothill Tech) campus yawns and shakes off the last remnants of its summer slumber as students begin to trickle, stream and finally swarm onto fresh pages of their high school career. However, students are not the only ones arriving at a brand-new starting point; as Foothill Tech ushers its 25th year into session, it also celebrates the entrance of its new principal, Courtney Johnson.
The Camarillo native first began her career in education as a teacher at El Segundo High School where she taught biomedical pathways as well as chemistry, earth science and Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID).
She then joined the Las Virgenes School District (LVSD) at Calabasas High School. Prior to receiving her admin credential and eventually becoming an assistant principal, she taught chemistry, biology and AVID classes.
It was the 2021-2022 school year when she was hired to be Cabrillo Middle School’s (Cabrillo) principal, wherein she spent her first two years upon entering the Ventura Unified School District (VUSD). However, it wasn’t long before Foothill Tech’s previous principal, Russel Gibbs, announced that he would be transferring to Pacific High School. In June of 2024, Johnson was officially introduced as Foothill Tech’s new principal.
Besides her sharp-witted identity as a school administrator, Johnson is also the mother of a young daughter and an avid golfer. Having grown up in Camarillo, “I thought I would never live in Camarillo once I grew up, but then I got married and wanted to start a family, and Camarillo seemed like a great place to come back to.”
However, Johnson stated that the reason why she made the move from other school districts to VUSD was because, “From the moment I stepped into the district office, I knew I wanted to be here.” She went on to express, “I really enjoyed everyone I interacted with during my interview process, and I still feel that way. I’m very happy to be in Ventura Unified.” Furthermore, the commute was much shorter than that of LVSD, meaning that she could still produce quality work without compromising her time with family.
Previous to Cabrillo, she had only worked in high schools and wanted a chance for a non-high school experience since she had a newborn at the time. Many high schools require attendance at late-night events multiple times a month, and Johnson needed to find a better balance.
But after two years at Cabrillo, she stated, “I missed high school, and Foothill seemed to be that perfect mix where I’m still able to be part of my daughter’s life, but I still get the excitement and diversity of what a high school has to offer.”
Over the course of the first week of school at Foothill Tech, Johnson stated that her first impression of the students and programs could not have been better. She explained, “During nutrition today, a trash can was knocked over, and I was walking over to go pick it up. Before I could do that, a student just picked it up and started putting trash in. I’ve never seen something like that before.” She went on to relate, “You guys smile back when I say ‘hello’ and smile at you, you say ‘good morning,’ and I just feel extremely grateful to be here.”
Regarding community goals for the future, Johnson stated, “I really want to figure out what I can do to maintain this level of excellence, and also continue to build that community vibe. I think that we’re really special in that we’re a small school, so building that community is something that can be a little bit different from your traditional high school.”
School administration and staff reactions have also been nothing but positive. Franklin Davis, one of Foothill Tech’s assistant principals, explained how after meeting Johnson at a conference last year, he was delighted to find out that she would be taking up the role as principal here at Foothill Tech.
Regarding the administrative transition so far, he stated, “[Johnson] has a lot of really great ideas that help support our students and our teachers that she’s already putting into place. Meanwhile, [she is] also trying to manage all the directives from the district as well, so she’s spinning on a lot of plates, but she’s doing really great in the first couple of weeks already.”
Mika Anderson, the BioScience program’s coordinator, provided her view from a science teacher’s perspective. She stated, “She’s the first administrator I’ve ever worked with who comes from a science background. In addition, she has experience in working with specialized programs in health and science, so it’s a perfect marriage. I needed somebody from the science department who could understand the needs of the science department specifically, as well as know how programs like BioScience work.”
To incoming students, Principal Johnson expressed, “We’re in the same boat! I’m still settling in as well, and I hope that they have started to find their place and realized that we are very happy they are here.”
And to returning students, she relayed the message, “Thank you for welcoming me. I’m excited to join you guys and support you, so if there’s something that I am not aware of and I really need to be, my door is open! I’m here because of students.”
As a leading administrator from a variety of backgrounds, all students, whether they be upper or lowerclassmen, Ventura natives or newcomers, can look forward to the dawning of a new era at Foothill Tech.