Introducing Ron Cino

A Transition in Leadership

As we head back to campus, the Laguna Blanca community welcomed the new Head of School Ron Cino.

WORDS by HANNA MASRI PHOTO by BRAD ELLIOTT

As the school year began and students and faculty returned to their routines, we welcomed our new head of school, Ron Cino.

Cino, his wife, and their three children, moved to Santa Barbara this summer, taking the reins from Rob Hereford after the Hereford family relocated to New Orleans.

Being a Brooklyn native and an East Coaster at heart, Cino attended Poly Prep in New York for eight years then majored in American Studies at Trinity College in Connecticut.

He was the Head of School at Worcester Academy in Massachusetts for 10 years adding to his 26 years of experience in education which include everything from working at Trinity’s Office of Admissions, to being the Director of College Counseling at Worcester Academy.

At Laguna Blanca, Cino wants to “apply the learning” from school last year towards an “even more robust on-campus experience.”

“One of the reasons that I love working in education is that I have the opportunity to learn each day,” Cino said. “The whole year ahead will be filled with listening, learning, and new experiences.”

Cino plans to make Laguna a place that will inspire students and teachers. He wants to do this by evolving “learning and teaching at Laguna” by seeing how Laguna, as a community, can use “professional learning” to make our teaching practices even more successful.

He also wants to ensure that our “rapidly growing community” understands and appreciates our core values of “scholarship, character, balance, and community” by finding ways to make these values visible in our practices and policies.

“He is warm and approachable and makes an effort each day to connect with our students, faculty and staff, as well as the larger Laguna community,” said Assistant to the Head of School Jessica Tyler. “Mr. Cino is a true leader and brings a wealth of experience to Laguna that is already proving to be invaluable and of benefit to all. I look forward to the year ahead to see where his vision carries us.”

A new Owl, Cino is already “proud to be part” of Laguna. The caring, welcoming, and warm community has made Cino feel a strong sense of ownership and belonging. He is honored to be apart of our school admiring the amount of people at Laguna who are full with “a deep and abiding commitment to its mission and core values.”

“I am so excited that Mr. Cino has come to Laguna. I really appreciate his dedication to the student body so far and his work to make our classes valuable, but also engaging and fun. He has really added to the caring, welcoming community at Laguna which I am so grateful for,” senior Catie Fristoe said.

“My future colleagues have great ideas about how to best serve our students through teaching, learning, and innovation. I am looking forward to working collaboratively with one another – students, parents, alumni, and the Board – to synthesize these ideas into a cohesive plan for Laguna Blanca’s next chapter,” Cino said.

Head of School Ron Cino stands in front of the entrance to the Upper School Campus