A new school year has brought new students, new teachers, and a new member of the Torrance High administrative staff.

Ms. Kelsey Jimerson, our new assistant principal, joined the Torrance High staff this fall after working at a small charter school in Downtown Los Angeles. Before that she was teaching at a school in Baltimore, using her degree in teaching from UCLA and the Masters she earned at Johns Hopkins University. 

The lure of Torrance High Ms. Jimerson said, “is the community.” Here at Torrance High, we have a multitude of teachers who are alumni, and families that have attended our school for generations. We are a family school, having housed a number of Tartars over the years. 

A difference Ms. Jimerson noted between the schools she worked at in the past and Torrance High is the all around high school experience Torrance High offers. This includes not only football but all the other extracurriculars Torrance High has to offer, such as other sports, the arts, and after-school activities. 

As assistant principal, Ms. Jimerson is in charge of the career technical education (also known as CTE pathways) classes Torrance High offers. These classes serve as an outlet for students to involve themselves in creative classes, such as cooking and fashion. The CTE pathways open doors for students that were previously closed, offering a brief glance at careers that would not necessarily require a college degree. 

For a number of students, college is not the only option for the future. With the CTE classes, as well as the dual enrollment classes done through El Camino, students are given the opportunity to pursue futures that they otherwise not be privy to. Ms. Jimerson is very excited about this program, and hopes to expand it to “offer more and different opportunities for all the students.”

Overall, Ms. Jimerson plans to do all that she can to uplift and support the students of Torrance High. She believes that high school is a time for figuring yourself out and what future you would like to build for yourself. It is a time to focus on your studies and put in all the effort you can. At the same time, however, “high school should also be a lot of fun”, and Jimerson advises students to be “involved and make lots of memories”.