Every young person should have the chance to chase a dream. Those dreams may change over time, not everyone can be an astronaut or professional basketball player, but hopefully every child can find a life after graduation pursuing a passion. Brittany Casey has the opportunity to achieve her dream this school year, as the newest principal of Dana Hills High School.
“Being back at Dana Hills as the principal is beyond my wildest dreams,” Casey said, while in her office with a window of walls that overlooks Dolphin Stadium out to the Pacific Ocean. “I am so grateful to be able to give back to a place that gave me every single tool I would need to succeed as an adult.”
Casey is a Dolphin through and through. She spent four years as a student, finding her niche as a performer in choir and theater while also serving as a student leader on the Bridges Task Force and connecting with the special education population in the formative Best Buddies program. Upon graduating in 2000, her passion for performing arts led her to UCLA to pursue a Theater Arts degree, and while she loved the stage, she felt truly drawn to education.
“At UCLA, my college professors were hopeful I would pursue a performing career on Broadway, but as much as I loved performing, I knew my heart was in education, and was lucky to have the opportunity to return to Dana Hills as a walk-on coach in the SOCSA department beginning my career in education where it began. .
Casey spent the next 18 years on the Dana Hills campus as a teacher, activities director, and an assistant principal, focused on the goal of making students feel welcome and engaged. She felt her career moving towards an administrative path, and took an opportunity in 2021 that had increased responsibilities and provided a valuable new perspective. Casey was appointed as the principal of Union High School, the continuation high school serving students from all of the six comprehensive high schools in CUSD. It was an important moment of growth for Casey, experiencing a new school with a unique population she hadn’t interacted with much previously.
“As a teacher, I spent most of my time with students who really wanted to be at school every day, performing, collaborating and having fun. It wasn’t until I sat as an assistant principal and came in contact with struggling students, that I realized I could be doing more Casey said. “In my three years at Union, my entire mindset shifted in terms of what was most important in my life as an educator. Those students opened my eyes to all of the different ways someone can experience school, and how I could help them believe they were worthy of achieving their best.”
She worked hard to build a culture at Union, encourage the students to embrace their opportunities and work towards achieving their goals after graduation.
Casey returns to Dana Hills a more experienced educator, and hasn’t lost the passion for the school that will help drive it forward.
“Having the chance to come back to your alma mater, not once, but twice, is such a rare situation that I am truly grateful for,” Casey said. “I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to come back home. The number of DHHS alumni that walk these halls as employees is a testament to the rich experiences provided to our students in the past, present, and future. Dana Hills is all of our home, and I am overjoyed to be a member of the pod again. The staff and school community have welcomed me with open arms, and made sure I know they have my back as much as I have theirs.”
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