Reinor was referring to Scandinavian Middle School and feeder elementary schools Norseman and Viking . The schools were part of the Scandinavian School District that served the Scandinavian Home Colony before the small district was annexed to Fresno Unified .
Three years after being hired as a GLA , Reinor became vice principal at Scandinavian . In February , Reinor was selected from among 10 finalists for the district ’ s Excellence in Education Administrator of the Year award .
In June , Reinor advanced to a new challenge : vice principal on special assignment in the Leadership Development Office .
With Reinor broadening his influence in the district , Goorabian-Ellis praised him for his time at Scandinavian : “ Gene was a dedicated administrator who was always willing to support students , parents and staff . His positive attitude and encouragement helped empower others to take ownership of the work .”
In his new job , Reinor is tasked with recruiting , developing and retaining leaders , including directly supporting vice principals . His work aligns with The Wallace Foundation ’ s $ 8.2 million grant initiative to develop and support a pipeline for equity-centered principals and leaders .
Reinor said he looks forward to supporting school site leaders , “ It ’ s a very lonely place to be a leader .”
Reinor ’ s path to choosing a career in education began with his parents – immigrants from Nicaragua – who made school a priority for their six children .
During summers in their hometown of Norwalk in Southern California , his father required all the children to submit hand-written research papers based on a subject of their choosing from the family ’ s set of encyclopedias . Young Reinor tended to steer toward topics from history , including writing about both world wars .
He chose history as his major at UC Riverside . After working as an Advancement via Individual Determination tutor during college , he realized he loved working with young people .
“ I have a huge passion to learn , a huge passion to serve ,” Reinor said .
Eugene Reinor , a vice principal on special assignment in Teacher Development , leads a training for new administrators in July .
22 FACES : EUGENE REINOR