Julie Korenstein, LAUSD school board member, presents award to Dare Doolittle

Dare Doolittle, Assistant Principal Verdugo Hills H.S.

Press Release - Verdugo Hills High School

September, 2004.

Golden Anniversary for the Verdugo Hills High School Head Counselor

On September 8, Principal Cheryl Dellepiane led the faculty and staff at Verdugo Hills High School in a celebration honoring Mrs. Dare Rowland Doolittle on her anniversary of 50 years of service in the Los Angeles Unified School District. LAUSD School Board Member Julie Korenstein presented Mrs. Doolittle with a certificate commemorating this impressive record of service from 1954 to the present.

Dan Isaacs, a longtime Administrator with LAUSD, declared, “I see her as a District treasure. Not many people work in the school District for 50 years and sustain the level of professionalism, skill and suppport for people that she provides on a daily basis.”

Mrs. Doolittle is the Assistant Principal at Verdugo Hills of Counseling Services for all students and is responsible for the Master Schedule. Former Principal Gary Turner recalls that when Verdugo Hills was considering a major change to the Copernican Block Schedule which it now uses, Mrs. Doolittle was instrumental in evaluating the change. Turner recalls, “She studied the schedule and said it would work well for us, like a college quarter system. And, in fact, she said it might work better than what we were doing.”

Dare Doolittle's Award of Appreciation

David Riemer, the new Magnet School Coordinator at VHHS claims, “Without a doubt we couldn’t have changed to the Copernican Schedule without Dare Doolittle to make all those pieces fit.”

Mrs. Doolittle worked at Pacoima Middle School and Sylmar High School as a classroom teacher, college counselor and student counselor before coming to Verdugo Hills. She says, “I stay in education because of the students. It’s all because of the students.”

Acknowledging that Verdugo Hills High School is a special place for her, Mrs. Doolittle notes, “I wouldn’t have stayed here all this long time if I didn’t think it’s a very good school because it’s willing to look at change. It’s not the same old thing here. Our teachers are excited and willing to look at new media classes and our new Magnet school. Right now they are involved in setting up Smaller Learning Communities.”

With luck, the high school will continue to benefit from the talents and skills of Assistant Principal Dare Doolitte. As Gary Turner states, “The bottom line is that she has done a lot for the students at Verdugo Hills High School.”

For further information, contact
Jean Hoelscher at (818) 353-1171 ext. 326
Email: jeanlh2verizon.net

Maria Wale, District 2, congratulating Dare Doolittle