Former Diamond Bar High School grade level counselor (GLC) Marc Natividad stepped into the role of acting assistant principal Monday, Feb. 2 until the end of the year as of this moment.
Natividad’s main responsibilities include supporting Principal Jamie Norell, working closely with the GLCs and helping steer the campus through second semester activities such as registration, supervision and graduation planning. Most of the time, he is also addressing sudden day-to-day emergencies.
Because his position is acting, there is no definitive time for how long he will remain at Walnut, but his focus is clear: learn the school’s culture, support staff and students, grow into the administration and keep Walnut’s traditions strong.
“It’s a lot of long days right now because there’s so much that I’m trying to do each day. I’m loving the campus and the student body. I have long loved being a GLC, and it was really tough leaving all the students I supported [at Diamond Bar],” Natividad said. “I’ve worked with a lot of assistant principals and seen how they’ve done things, so I’ve been able to take all of that and calibrate it into what I feel can work. Hopefully along the way, people [can] give me feedback if this is working or not, and I can adjust.”
The news of a new acting assistant principal reached Natividad’s ears near the end of first semester last December. When a position such as acting assistant principal is vacant, the district will aim to fill that spot with someone already well versed and capable of meeting its expectations until an official replacement is found. When Natividad was offered the acting position, he had to undergo months of training and meetings with previous acting assistant principal Jeff Jordan, Norell and other administrators to smoothly transition over to Walnut. A difficulty for Natividad has been getting used to the new processes, but he has been learning from the new administration
“He is phenomenal, he’s a natural leader and he works so amazingly with students. He really understands the importance of student relationships and building that capacity,” Norell said. “Walnut Valley has a really unique system with GLCs and teams, so [it’s great] to have someone here who understands that system and how to support everyone so they can do what’s best for students.”
Natividad was a GLC for 13 years at Diamond Bar High School prior to this appointment and special education for 12 years before GLC. As a result, his background as a GLC heavily shapes how he views the assistant principal role, especially when it comes to supervision and relationships with students.
“Any position on a high school campus is really about relationship building and how you connect with people,” Natividad said. “Even in the most difficult moments, when you may be in trouble, ultimately, we care about people. I like having those difficult conversations to hopefully guide somebody towards where they should be headed.”
Having worked on both the Diamond Bar side and now on the Walnut side of the district, Natividad sees more similarities than differences between Walnut and Diamond Bar. He says Walnut’s systems are similar to Diamond Bar’s but differ in detail of how processes actually run day to day. However, he is actively working to familiarize better with the campus.
“Meeting [Natividad] at [previous] Walnut Valley GLC meetings and having him as an admin here is totally different,” GLC Ernesto Ruiz said. “He’s really supportive and encouraging, and the support that he’s given me has been great because I feel like he has my back. He knows the role of a GLC because he was in our shoes, so he knows firsthand what we deal with on a daily basis. He also has admin experience [as GLC], so it’s like a double win.”To Natividad, interacting with the student body and campus life has been a highlight in the past week he’s been at Walnut. In his first week, he has attended basketball and soccer games, watched Signing Day on Feb. 4 and overseen senior caps and gowns being distributed. These moments remind him why high school is such an important time for students.
“Seeing [students] enjoy [school], that’s what we’re here for. We want [students] to be [their] best while [they’re] here, to enjoy it and to really get that high school experience,” he said. “I just know that I am here for as long as they need me. My goal this year is just that: how can I support everybody while learning as much as I possibly can?”
