The Julia Morgan School for Girls, the only all-girl middle school in the East Bay, has chosen its Academic Dean Sandra Luna to succeed founding head Ann Clarke on July 1, 2009.

     Ms. Luna – a longtime educator who was head of Children’s Day School in San Francisco before arriving at Julia Morgan in 2006 – will become JMSG’s second head, just as the school enters its second decade. Ms. Luna was chosen by the Julia Morgan board after an intensive nationwide search that drew candidates from as far away as New York.

     “Our board, faculty, parents, and girls are all delighted to have found such a perfect match in Sandra Luna,” said board chair Ilana DeBare, one of the school’s founders. “Sandra combines a track record of strong administrative experience with a passionate commitment to Julia Morgan’s mission of preparing the confident, capable, creative and compassionate women of tomorrow.

     The Julia Morgan School, which is located on the campus of Mills College in Oakland, serves 183 girls in grades six through eight. Since its opening in 1999, the school has won national recognition for its unique integrated curriculum and for innovative programs such as financial literacy, robotics and the GO GIRL service learning program.

     As Academic Dean, Ms. Luna currently oversees Julia Morgan’s curriculum, supervises the faculty, and manages the high school admission process for 8th graders. She also teaches an elective class each semester and works closely with girls and parents as an 8th grade advisor.

     “I am passionate about instilling leadership in girls – helping girls find their voices, learn to think critically, and learn from both their successes and failures,” Ms. Luna said. “I feel blessed to be at JMSG.  Quite simply, I love its mission, the middle-school-aged girl, my administrative and faculty colleagues, and the students with whom I work.”

     A Bay Area native, Ms. Luna has a B.A. in Theology from the University of San Francisco and a law degree from the U.S.F. School of Law. Before coming to Julia Morgan, she spent twelve years at Children’s Day School in San Francisco’s Mission District, where she shepherded the school from a privately-owned preschool to an independent, non-profit K-8 school.

     Ms. Luna will assume the position of head at Julia Morgan when founding head Ann Clarke steps down in July 2009.