Principal
STEM Education
Leadership
About Chad Smith
Chad Smith, a principal, is an educator who champions well-rounded, supportive, and technologically innovative methods in schools. Chad’s diverse experience in everything from STEM teaching to curriculum development to extracurricular activities provides invaluable expertise to the education community.
Prior to his successful and fulfilling career in education, Chad Smith earned a Bachelor of Science in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Utah and a Master’s in Planning from the University of Southern California.
Principal Chad Smith spent the next seven years excelling across numerous industries. He first gained international experience by preparing economic development projects in Hanoi, Vietnam and Guangzhou, China. During his travels, Chad noted a rising interest in telecommunications and he founded his own consulting firm. The firm focused on acquisition, entitlement, and construction of cellular, PCS, and digital communication network sites. Chad continued on an entrepreneurial path by building a company that owned several gas stations. His final business venture prior to education was a two-year role as the vice president of a small bank.
Chad’s “aha” moment occurred to him shortly after he suffered a serious injury. Hospitalized after an ankle reconstruction surgery incurred life-threatening complications, Chad began to wonder exactly what drove him in his career and in his life overall. He decided that once he was well enough to leave the hospital, he would sell his businesses and enter a truly fulfilling field: education. He could apply his same creative energy and large-scale ideas to schools and foster more valuable environments for students.
After earning his teaching certification Chad Smith joined Baldwin Park High School as an Earth Science, Astronomy, and Natural Hazards teacher. He then taught Earth Science and Oceanography at Fullerton High School, where he also coached freshman football and varsity track. While Chad embraced his roles as teacher and coach, his long background in leadership and management drove him to aspire even higher. At his Alma Mater, Tustin High School, Chad taught Earth science and also took on the role of ASB Director.
From 2007 to 2012 Principal Chad Smith served as the Assistant Principal of Tustin High School. In addition to overseeing all athletics and student activities (similar to his prior role as ASB Director), Chad oversaw curriculum and instruction, student discipline, and course development. He created a One to One notebook computer program, played a key role in the expansion of the Model United Nations program, and also created a highly successful STEM program. Chad developed every program with the goal of fostering active student participation and interest, and under his leadership the school flourished.
From 2012 to 2015 Chad Smith headed South Hills High School as Principal. Again, he took on the crucial task of updating the school’s learning models to accurately reflect and teach the skill sets required by colleges and businesses in the 21st century. Backed by his Category 1 International Baccalaureate certification, Chad implemented the school’s first IB program. He also created an Entrepreneur program and implemented a pathway to STEM-based learning. The latter was of particular interest to Chad, who earned his Ed.D with a dissertation on students’ current interests and attitudes towards STEM.
Now, Chad is the Coordinator of Pupil Services at Capistrano Unified, where he oversees Special Assignment Pupil Services and Welfare and serves as a liaison between the District, Orange County Office of Education, and school districts.
Chad lives in Tustin with his wife Laura Lynn and his two children, Jessica and Matthew. Chad is also the guardian of a Tustin High graduate, Edward, who is a two-time, all-league, All-County, All-CIF football player. Edward has received a scholarship to play football at UC Berkeley.
Principal Chad Smith is an avid snow skier, scuba diver, and hiker. He and his daughter are also black belts in Tae Kwon Do. He is currently finishing his Doctorate in Education at USC.
Blog
Communication is the Language of Leadership
“A leader is the one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way,” as said by John C. Maxwell. Great leadership qualities are found in few. A person completely devoted to the betterment of her or his team, a person who cares selflessly about his teammates and...
Teaching Cyber Security in Schools
Pursuing a career in cyber security can turn out to be a lucrative experience. Students in high schools looking to embark upon a profession in this field should start preparing as early as possible in order to land a good position as soon as they come across one upon...
Social Media and the Classroom
Social media is a widely used forum in today’s world and it is used by nearly everyone who has an access to the internet. Social media does not have restricted application to being a social person, but it is also finding its use in the education system as well. Ways...
How to Improve Your Leadership Skills
Leadership skills do not necessarily entail dictating a large corporate team for completing a project or organizing an event successfully. Unconsciously, you lead people in your life or yourself too. Leadership skills involve how you impact or influence an individual...
How Technology Helps Teachers Do Their Jobs
Technology has become a necessity in leading institutions nowadays. Educational institutions have also adopted technology for the betterment of not only it’s teachers but also it’s students. Technology has helped ease up the process of education and made it more...
How Technology Enhances Learning
As technology is expanding day by day, it is a requirement for children to learn how to use technology effectively. Teacher’s jobs have become much more easier through technology as well. In short, technology itself has enhanced the learning process for everyone. Ways...
How Effective Leadership Can Bring About Educational Change
The best–known teachers of all times from around the world have taught one common thing about leadership. It is that true leadership is not being in a superior position and directing the people under you to work as per your orders and instructions – rather true...
Digital Classroom: For Educating the Children of the Next Generation
To build a strong nation, you need a strong social base. And who is better armed with the ways and means of giving us a robust social infrastructure than a generation of smart, well – read, tech – savvy, sincere and responsible students? They are the ones who have the...
Closing the Tech Talent Gap With Education
Technology is such an invention that it is under a form of changing constantly. There are a number of people who lead their lives involved in the shaping, developing and the protecting of technology. This is essential so that technology is harnessed for the betterment...
Why Should We Be Teaching Coding In School?
Coding is a step-by-step command that a person has to write down in order to tell a computer what to do. Computers were designed by humans and the way they function are defined through numerous codes. Why is Coding Important? Coding is the empowerment of the digital...
More Information
Background
Chad Smith was raised in Tustin, California. He graduated from Tustin High School in 1990 and lettered in Football and Track. He then went on to graduate from University of Utah in 1994 with a degree in Urban and Regional Planning and a minor in Geography.
Chad Smith later returned to California to attend graduate school at the University of Southern California. He graduated from USC in 1996 with a Master’s in Urban Planning (MPL) and Public Administration. Now, he is currently working on his Doctorate in Education at the USC.
Career
During graduate school, Chad Smith worked as an Assistant Planner at Urban Vision, an environmental planning firm based in Newport Beach. He left in 1996 to begin work with Koll Telecommunication Services. Within a year, Chad left to work at Marmac Engineering as the Director of Planning for the Telecommunication Division. In 1998, Smith and his partner left Marmac and started Pacific Management Associates (PMA), a telecommunication consulting firm. In 1999, Smith sold PMA to RCC Communications. Also in 1999, Smith became the Director of Real Estate for EZ Lube, an automotive services company. In 2001, Smith decided to leave EZ Lube and started Synergy Fuels, Inc. Synergy Fuels, Inc owned and operated several gas stations in Southern California.
At the same time, he entered into the world of banking and finance and served as a Business Development Officer and Vice President of several small southern California banks. It was at this time that Smith and several partners started a small home building company.
After an injury and long recovery, Smith decided to divest his business interests and went back to school to obtain his teaching credential. In 2004/2005, Smith began teaching Earth Science at Baldwin Park High School. In 2005, he left Baldwin Park and worked as an Earth Science and Oceanography teacher at Fullerton High School. In 2006 he became an Earth Science teacher and football coach at his Alma Mater, Tustin High School.
Later that year, he became the ASB director and continued to coach football, basketball, and track at Tustin High. In 2007, Smith became the Assistant Principal of Discipline at THS and in 2008 took over as the Assistant Principal of Curriculum and Instruction, where he was instrumental in the implementation of a 1:1 technology program, STEM program, and early college program.
In 2012, Smith left Tustin High to become Principal of South Hills High School. While at South Hills, Smith directed the implementation of the International Baccalaureate and Business Enterprise programs. In 2015, Smith left South Hills High and became the coordinator of Pupil Services in Capistrano Unified School District.