Curt Luft began his career in education in 1965 and is known by longtime colleagues as a man of integrity, and for always being a strong leader who stood for doing the right thing during his 34 years in education in the Conejo Valley Unified School District. He retired in 1999 after 17 years at Westlake High School.

Through the years, Curt earned many awards that speak to his fine qualities as a teacher and Principal.

Among his many honors and awards, in 1986 Curt was presented with the Westlake High School Scholarship Foundation Outstanding Service Award. He was given the Ventura County Math Council Award for Outstanding Mathematics Educator for Support of Quality Mathematics Education. He was also recognized by the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) in 1982 for outstanding service as Region XII Vice President, Programs. He was given the ACSA-Service Award in Recognition and Service to Education for 1994-1995.

In 1996 he earned The California Department of Education’s Award for Extraordinary Direction, Leadership and Innovation as Principal of Westlake High School, a California Distinguished School.

The ACSA also gave Curt the following awards: Outstanding Service as Charter President. (1979-1980); Outstanding Service as Region XIII Committee Chairperson, Secondary Education (1995); Secondary Principal of the Year for the Tri-County Area (1994); and the Administrative Excellence Award for Conejo, Las Virgenes, Oak Park Districts (1994-1995).
Prior to Westlake, he worked at Thousand Oaks High School for 17 years.

The 1970, the Thousand Oaks Lancer yearbook was dedicated to Curt in appreciation of his five years of service up to that point. Those he taught described him as possessing a unique quality which helped bring history to life; to makes it more relevant to today. The senior class bestowed on him the title, Mr. TOHS Teacher.

While at Thousand Oaks, Curt served ten years as student government advisor. He was responsible for the inception of the student government and under his advisership, the student government transformed into an entire school involvement. His interest in school affairs motivated his affiliation with the California Teachers Association. He served as president of the branch for Oxnard Union High School District in 1970.

After retiring Curt served for six years as an Interim Administrator for various school districts in Southern CA. He also served as Principal at Oaks Christian, then as a consultant for a year and helped lead the school to become certified. He also supervised student teachers at California Lutheran University for five years.

Fred J. Phipps has dedicated his life to teaching and lifelong learning. Those who know him well say he is natural born mentor who has left his mark on the Camarillo educational community.

As an administrator, he made school a happy and productive place for his students and staff. As an educator he motivated his students to achieve their best.

Fred started as a 6th grade teacher in the Hueneme School District and taught 8th grade in the Pleasant Valley School District prior to becoming an administrator. He also had a two-year district office assignment in the Pleasant Valley School District.

After his retirement he became the Director of the Oxnard Center for California Lutheran University and a Supervisor of Elementary student teachers.

Prior to the formation of Region 13, ACSA, he was President of the Oxnard Plain Elementary Administration Association. (OPEA). He was the Administration representative for the Ventura County Reading Teachers Association for three years.

After serving on various ACSA committees, Fred was awarded the Region 13 Outstanding Elementary Administration Award in 1983.

Early in his career he was honored by the Mexican-American Educators Association in 1968, and in 1969 he received a PTA Honorary Lifetime Membership.
His involvement in community activities has given him a large circle of friends that speak highly of him, and he has been recognized by many organizations for his contributions and giving freely of his time.

Fred has been very active in the community as a charter member of the City of Camarillo, and a founding member of the Boys and Girls Club where he served for 27 years. He received the Joel McCrea award in 1988 from the Boys and Girls Club. He was also a founding member of Christians Acting Together and served as treasurer for three years. In 1997 he was named a Don by the Pleasant Valley Historical Society.

Fred received a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Education degree at Central State University, Edmond, OK. He completed additional graduate work at Cal State Northridge University and USC.

Fred was in the U.S. Navy Reserve 1950-1954. Two years active duty and two years inactive. He received an Honorable discharge and a letter of commendation for outstanding performance of duty from the base commanding officer.

Richard Mahlke, who has known and worked with Fred for over 60 years said, “I had the experience of attending many educational meetings with Fred. Fred made many helpful comments in these meetings. He had a gift of expressing himself well and was an asset to all attending meetings. Fred is a people person and was well liked by all who knew him. He was always encouraging his teachers as well as the students and had a very positive personality with parents and with all he would meet in the community.”

Athol Wong dedicated her time as an educator to expansion and growth in her schools and in the lives of her students.

While she was Principal at Newbury Park High School, from 2006 to 2014, Athol Wong created a positive culture shift that led to success for her students, colleagues, and staff. She instituted “watch words” to encapsulate her mission and vision for all students: Nobility (do what is right because it is right), Potential (try to do better even when it might not result in success), Humanity (respect differences, look for common ground, and treat others with kindness and dignity), and Scholarship (recognize the importance of learning in many forms beyond test scores and college admission).

In 2006, she received the National Blue Ribbon School award as Principal and recognition from Region XIII of the Association of California School Administrators. During her eight-year tenure, she oversaw the development and/or expansion of many programs: School-to-Career (including the opening of Panther Café, an on-campus restaurant staffed by students); the addition of Mandarin Chinese and American Sign Languages in Foreign Language offerings; and the Visual/Performing Arts to include student murals on campus.

She launched the “Every 15 Minutes Program” (to promote safe driving) and it became a bi-annual offering just before Prom. Also, during her tenure, National Honor Society was instituted, and unprecedented numbers of students qualified for recognition on Honor Roll, earned increased numbers of college scholarships and other honors in the process.

As a teacher, Athol made projects and assignments relevant to the lives her students were living. She also knew how to have fun. Along with Ellen Kersey, Athol was the emcee of several End-of-the-Year Luncheons where they dressed up as old retirees named, Myrtle and Maude. Together, they enjoyed poking fun at those who were retiring each year and serenaded them with corny songs.

Among her many awards and accomplishments, Athol was selected as a Mentor teacher twice. She was awarded a South Coast Writing Project (SCWriP) fellowship in the summer of 1997. She wrote the first successful California Distinguished School application for Adolfo Camarillo High School in 1997. She wrote the successful National Blue Ribbon School application for the same school in 1998.

She was selected as site and District Teacher of the Year in 1996, received the Outstanding Customer Service Award in 1997, and the Superintendent’s Inspirational Service Award in 1998.

She was the Assistant Principal for Athletics at Thousand Oaks High School, 2000-2004.
During that time, she oversaw the school’s successful WASC Accreditation, and wrote a successful National Blue Ribbon application in 2002.

She began her career as an English teacher for grades 7- 9 at Fort Miller Junior High School, Fresno, CA, after she earned a Bachelor of Arts, Suma Cum Laude, in English from California State University Fresno, in 1976, and a MS in Administrative Services from Pepperdine University in 1999.