When William “Joey” Davis accepted the position of Brea Olinda High School principal in May, it was a full-circle moment.
Before enjoying a long career in education at several north Orange County schools, including Valencia and El Dorado high schools, in positions ranging from coach to teacher to assistant principal to principal, Davis’s journey started right here at BOHS as a softball coach and student teacher in the late-1980s.
Davis steps into the leadership role formerly held by Dr. Joshua Porter, who accepted a position at the Fullerton Joint Union High School District (FJUHSD) at the end of the 2023-2024 school year.
Davis brings experiences from an array of positions in education, including: history and economics teacher; varsity softball and basketball coach; broadcasting teacher (he founded Walnut High School’s school broadcasting program); instructional dean at the Walnut Valley Unified School District (WVUSD); assistant principal at Valencia High School; and principal of El Dorado High School.
Now, Davis back to where it all began: BOHS.
The Wildcat: What most attracted you to BOHS and BOUSD, and what are you most excited about as BOHS’s new principal?
Principal Davis: Honestly, initially it was the opportunity to work with Dr. [Joshua] Porter. I started looking for jobs and I chatted with him about the openings. We knew each other from the Century Conference and when he was hired at BOHS I reached out to welcome him to the group (I was conference president). I was excited about coming to BOHS as an Assistant Principal and starting new. When Dr. Porter left, I decided to throw my name into the hat. It is an honor to be selected and have the opportunity. Getting to be the principal at BOHS is really a full-circle moment for me.
The Wildcat: How have your experiences in education as a teacher, coach, and administrator shaped who you are as a leader?
Principal Davis: I started at the old BOHS campus as a student teacher. I was coaching softball and doing my credential work at Cal State Fullerton. I asked Fullerton if I could student teach at BOHS and I spent a year teaching history. When I was done, I subbed in the district.
I actually went back in the yearbook and found the old photos of me with the JV softball teams. I grew up as a coach and that drew me into teaching. I taught and coached for 17 years before leaving to be an administrator.
I had the honor of working with some amazing principals. My favorite was Dr. Ken Gunn at Walnut High School. He was incredibly student-centered and spent almost his entire career at one school. I won’t have the same opportunity (at one single school) but I still think the values he demonstrated to me as a young person on his staff are incredibly important. I have his voice (and a few others) in my head sometimes when making a difficult decision and I really value that.
The Wildcat: What are your goals as principal for the upcoming school year, and what are you currently prioritizing?
Principal Davis: For me this will be a year of listening and learning. My hope is to get to know the staff and learn about the programs at BOHS. From there, I’ll make some plans, but I’m not fully sure what those might be yet. We have some tasks from the last Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) visit that we need to work on as well as the priorities that were established last year. So we will start with those and build relationships with students and staff, because I believe in the old saying that we can go farther together.
The Wildcat: What is your stance on the BOUSD school bond measure that will appear on this year’s ballot, despite its failure to pass in Brea since 1999?
Principal Davis: I am happy that the leadership of BOUSD — the Superintendent [Brinda Leon] and the board — are making an investment in the facilities. BOHS has some facilities issues that need to be addressed on a more permanent scale and I really hope I can be part of that. In PYLUSD the bond measures led to new schools being built, and older schools — like Valencia, which turned 75 while I was there — getting a significant facelift. A small portion of the bond money in PYLUSD was also used to update classroom technology, which BOHS is already working on.
The Wildcat: What unique challenges and/or differences do you expect to encounter in a district that is considerably smaller than PYLUSD?
Principal Davis: I am still learning what those differences and challenges might be. One example is in the running of the district. PYLUSD had three Directors and an Assistant Superintendent running the Education Services department. Each director had a different role — for example, Elementary, Secondary, and Assessment and Accountability. So that division of tasks allowed people to be experts on a few things. In a smaller district, you don’t have that support but you do have the same responsibilities. But we are so fortunate at BOHS to have three assistant principals [Bryson Burns, Hillary Herrington, and Cecilia Story] who can help handle some of the tasks and keep us up to date.
Another difference is just in the number of people. For example, with over 30 schools in PYLUSD, it could be difficult to remember who was the principal at each school. The number of middle managers could be overwhelming and occasionally we would wonder what they all did. So far I have been really impressed by how the leadership of BOUSD is completely engaged in connecting with the staff and students. They are so involved in the campus and I think that’s very positive.
The Wildcat: What are some of your hobbies and interests outside of work?
Principal Davis: My kids have grown up, the boys are almost 24 and 26. Both graduated from college and have made great strides to starting their career.
My wife and I have been married for 32 years. She works in education as well, as a school social worker at an elementary school. So outside of work, my interest has primarily been my family.
Being a principal, or [assistant principal] at a high school, takes a lot of time. So I always tried to make my wife and kids my top priority. My kids were blessed to be around a lot of family. Until recently, when my in-laws moved to Texas, all four grandparents were within a few minutes and my kids grew up seeing their grandparents a lot. They were fortunate, and so was I. I don’t know how I could have spent as much time at work without their support.
We love sports. I still try to play basketball once a week. The boys were also engaged in baseball, tennis, and basketball growing up and now they both have jobs working around sports.
The Wildcat: What advice do you have for our student body?
Principal Davis: Get involved! Connect with what you love on campus. If it isn’t a sport, then try the arts! Or join a club. If we don’t already have a club for you to get excited about, start one! High school goes by fast, and you only get to do it once. So do it right! Join us in the Den at some sporting events. Bring a friend and make it a positive experience!
