Three New Hires for Newark Unified School District

Newark Unified School District welcomed three new men into its school community Tuesday night.

Dave Marken of Dublin Unified School District, Mark Neal of Castro Valley Unified School District and Terrance Dunn of New Haven Unified School District have all accepted positions with .

The three were appointed during the closed session of the Board of Education’s special meeting Tuesday. The appointments were announced afterwards during the meeting’s public session.

Board Vice President Ray Rodriguez was not physically present but was in attendance via teleconference for the first portion of the meeting.

A New Superintendent

Marken will soon begin transitioning into his role as the district’s next top chief.

The father of three joins Newark Unified as its next superintendent after working for the  Dublin Unified School District for nearly 14 years in various positions, from Dublin High School’s principal to his most recent job as assistant superintendent of human resources.

Marken announced he had accepted the Newark Unified superintendent's position during  on Monday. He succeeds former superintendent , who has accepted a position with Oak Grove Union School District.

On Tuesday, Marken thanked Newark’s Board of Education for selecting him.

“I appreciate the board’s confidence,” Marken said. “I’m extremely excited to be a part of the Newark family…(we’re) here to provide best education to our kids and I’m proud to be a part of it.”

The board approved Marken’s contract unanimously Tuesday night. A copy of that contract was not available at the board meeting.

‘Filling Big Shoes’

Neal will be taking on the role of principal at .

Neal joins Newark Unified after serving Castro Valley Unified School District for seven years, most recently as associate principal of Creekside Middle School. He has also held positions with the New Haven Unified School District.

Neal said he is excited to join Newark Unified and is looking forward to working with former colleagues who are already employed in the district.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited for a job,” Neal said when his appointment was announced. “I appreciate the opportunity you’ve given me, and I’m ready to go.”

Neal succeeds former principal Catherine Ward-Mikes, who has joined Dublin Unified as principal at Dougherty Elementary School. Ward-Mikes said earlier that she accepted the Dublin Unified job so that she can work closer to her home.

Board President Charlie Mensinger said the board is excited to have Neal join the district.

“We can’t wait to have you start going. You have some big shoes to fill, even though they are tiny little ones,” said Mensinger, referring to Ward-Mikes.

From Alternative Education to Elementary School

Dunn will join Newark Unified as principal of .

The father of three sons, Dunn said he was honored and humbled by the board’s appointment. He most recently served as vice principal at Conley-Caraballo High School, the alternative high school in neighboring New Haven Unified School District.

Dunn has been with New Haven for three years. He told Patch that his move to Graham Elementary is a perfect fit since he has been hoping to transition into elementary education for years.

“I’ve been doing a lot of alternative education work with older kids, really to get them back on track," Dunn said. "When I was at elementary sites, I was just really struck by the kids. I really wanted to work at the beginning of the education process.” 

Dunn replaces former principal Peter Parenti, who is now principal of Albany Middle School.

Newark Patch plans to meet with the newly appointed administrators of Newark Unified and will feature them in separate reports in the near future. If you have specific questions you would like Patch to ask the new administrators, please send them to nika.megino@patch.com