Former Dozier-Libbey principal Nancie Castro leaves Antioch Unified School District

Dozier-Libbey Principal Nancie Castro speaks at this year's graduation

Former Dozier-Libbey Principal Nancie Castro speaks at this year’s graduation.  by Luke Johnson

By John Crowder

Nancie Castro, the embattled former principal of Dozier-Libbey Medical High School (DLMHS), announced today that she has accepted a position as Director of Human Resources and Curriculum with the Jefferson School District in Tracy.

Castro had been with the Antioch Unified School District (AUSD) since 2008, when she was hired to be the first principal of the newly formed DLMHS. During her time as principal, the school was repeatedly acclaimed for its success. In 2011, it was awarded a Distinguished School award from the California Department of Education. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, on hand for the award ceremony, touted the high Academic Performance Index scores achieved by the school and its rigorous, real-world education focused on helping students prepare for careers in the medical field.

Most recently, DLMHS was listed in the top 700 schools in the United States by U.S. News and World Report, which lauded its 70% Advanced Placement Test participation rate with a student body that has minority enrollment of 77%.

Last February, however, Castro was caught up in controversy after a large majority of the teaching staff filed a petition to convert the campus to a charter school. According to the petitioners, the move was made because of “diverging philosophies between the district and site staffs for program implementation at this innovative, health career-themed school.” AUSD, on the other hand, has characterized the move as “extremely divisive,” and took the unheard of step to create its own, dependent charter school, to thwart what has been labeled by their supporters as a “mutiny.”

On April 9, the district appointed Scott Bergerhouse as principal of the dependent charter school, and Castro was told in late June that she would be moved to a teaching position at another Antioch high school.

In announcing her new position, Castro said, “I feel blessed to have worked alongside the incredibly talented and dedicated teachers and staff, industry partners, supportive parents, and amazing students at Dozier-Libbey for the past eight years. With this team approach our students excelled, and I’m extremely proud of what we accomplished. I was disappointed to be transferred out of Dozier-Libbey, but I am very excited for this new opportunity with the Jefferson School District. I wish the teachers at DLMHS the best in their continued pursuit of excellence.”


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Dozier-Libbey Principal Nancie Castro speaks at this year’s graduation


One Comment to “Former Dozier-Libbey principal Nancie Castro leaves Antioch Unified School District”

  1. Julio says:

    I wish Nancie Castro well. Thank you for all your hard work This district MUST get rid of Superintendent Gill.

Leave a Reply to Julio