It’s a new year, and time to check in with our school principal to find out his goals and plans for our Mustang community. Here is our interview with Dr. Giles…and if you want to see the video, check it out on our Instagram here =>
cmhs.news Instagram – Interview with Dr. Giles
Hitching Post: Dr. Giles, what are your biggest goals for the school year?
Dr. Giles: I have a lot of goals but, honestly, I want to improve our whole educational experience. I want to see all of our students doing better, improving on their math scores, improving on their English scores. Just achieving in the classroom. I think we can do great things, so I’m excited about that. The second thing, and I’ve told every student this is, I want to have a lot of fun. I really, truly believe that if students are having fun in school, they’re gonna do better in class. So we’re trying to create opportunities for everybody to just come and get involved and have a good time this year. We did the dance the first day of school, and ice cream that first week, things to make it fun. We’re trying to do more music and games during lunchtime, my mentality is, if you’re in class and you’re working hard, it might be stressful, right? But then if you leave class and you get to go have fun with your friends and play games and listen to music, then that brings that stress level down. And then when you go to your next class, you’re ready to do well again. One of the big changes I’d love to see with our students is to get them to be talking more in class when they’re supposed to. So interacting and taking ownership of your own education. You guys aren’t passive recipients where you just sit and listen. You should be actively participating in your learning, processing that information, and asking questions. That’s my goal is to go into classrooms and see students struggling with their learning by asking questions and participating.
Hitching Post: What changes and improvements have you made to Mesa that you would like students to recognize?
Dr. Giles: I mean, obviously there’s the physical changes. We got the paint job and we did new murals. If you take pride in your school, then again, you’re going to want to be here.
Hitching Post: What are some ways we’re hoping to showcase the arts on campus? We are the city of the arts, and I feel like a lot of times, people forget that we have some of the most amazing art programs in the district, so how do you plan on showcasing all of this?
Dr. Giles: Yeah, I mean, with all of our programs, we want to utilize all of our tools, our social media, those things to make sure that every group, every organization is getting that time. You know, I personally attend all of the performances and those kinds of things. I think it’s really important. We started a social media class this year. So that’s an opportunity just to get more information about our school so that all of our students, families, and community know all the amazing things that are happening here.
Hitching Post: What plans do you have to support not only students, but also teachers and staff on campus?
Dr. Giles: That’s a great question. I mean, we do a lot of professional development the week prior to students coming back, we spend time just working with our staff to make sure that they have what they need. And then also, making sure teachers have the resources they need, so if there’s something in the bathroom that’s not working or they want to start a new project, but they don’t have the material, we actually work with a foundation. so they can write and ask for grant money to fund federal projects in their classroom. Just making sure they have what they need so they can do their job. I really think it’s important to think about situations like this because it all starts with them.
Hitching Post: What would a successful school look like to you in your perfect, like, in the perfect world, what would it look like?
Dr. Giles: That’s a great question. I think, obviously, it’s students achieving, right? But beyond that, like I said, students are enjoying it, like in the back of my mind, one of the goals that I have is that 30, 40 years from now, all of them will look back at their time here at Costa Mesa and think of it fondly. They will say, “I love being at Costa Mesa, I had such a great experience.” To me, that would be a huge success. that they felt safe, they felt welcome, they felt joy, that there was such a positive feeling while they were here. And then obviously that we gave them the tools necessary for them to be successful. So, you know, they find themselves in this great career and they’re like, “That’s because of some of this stuff I’d learned at Costa Mesa!” For me, that’s the perfect scenario for school.
Hitching Post: What are your long term goals for this school?
Dr Giles: I mean, my long term goals, I’ve said it to anybody that wants to listen, is that we’re the number one academic school in Newport Mesa, And that we have the best school culture. It’s a five-year plan to overtake every other school in this district, and I would say once we do that, then we’ll start looking at achieving that in Orange County as a whole. That’s the ultimate goal, I would love to see that in the future.
Hitching Post: Now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for. How was the process of getting your doctor in?
Dr. Giles: It was difficult. It’s a hard process, but it was really fulfilling. I mean, it’s been a dream of mine for really almost 20 years to do it. But the timing never felt right. And so I decided to go for it. And I mean, ultimately it was great and I loved it. And I learned a lot from that experience.
Hitching Post: What inspired you to try and get your doctorate?
Dr. Giles: I think I enjoyed learning. It’s sort of like, you gotta believe in the product you’re selling, right? I wanted to learn new things and to push myself. And, you know, I have 2 daughters and I want to be an example of them too, that you can do hard things. You push forward and you can accomplish great things.
Hitching Post: What educational opportunities do you hope to bring to Mesa?
Dr. Giles: We have already started American sign language class. We were starting a mariachi band group and we started the social media class. But one of the big ones is we’re starting the AP capstone diploma program, and so it’s actually a really rigorous program that’s really highly recognized for some of our students. So that’s a big one for me. I also want to really expand our dual enrollment options, so students are able to earn college credit while they’re here. We want to continue to expand those things. It is always better to give every student more options.
Hitching Post: What plans do you have for just sports in general that are less recognized on campus
Dr. Giles: I want every program to feel like they’re the most important, highlighting them in social media, attending the games, doing those things. What I want to continue doing is making sure that we have people at every game supporting them, so that they feel welcome and valued because they are. It doesn’t matter what sport you play, It’s hard work, and takes a lot of time. Whether it be band, choir, cheer, or whatever sport you’re doing here at school, you feel like you’re part of something special.
A big thank you to Dr. Giles for taking the time to share his thoughts and plans for our school. We appreciate all the work you’re doing to make Mesa the best it can be!
